


-To the Future Days

by VanillaMeteor



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Character Death Fix, Don't get me wrong I like a lot of the ships in a romantic way I just can't write romance lol, F/M, Fix-It, I don't know if the other relationships I'll include will be romantic, Justice served AU, Most likely they'll be platonic, Other relationships will probably be tagged later, V3 spoilers, kaede lives au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-05-08 19:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 117,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14700909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanillaMeteor/pseuds/VanillaMeteor
Summary: "Hey Shuichi? Can I ask you one last favor? Can you...end all this?"An alternate universe where Shuichi decides to bet everything to change the outcome of the first class trial.





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey Shuichi? Can I ask you one last favor?”

Shuichi looked up from his crying state. Despite the tears blurring his view, he could still see Kaede face. He could see tears of her own streaking her face. But despite all this, she still had a forced smile across her face. He recognized that smile of hers as a defense mechanism to hide her true feelings. Her guilt, sadness, fear.

“Can you... end all of this?”

“What?”

Shuichi couldn’t believe what he heard. Or maybe he didn’t want to hear it.

After everything, from accusing Kaede to proving her method, she was still prepared to face the consequences of her actions? To face her own death? Shuichi wasn’t sure what to do at this point. Kaede must have noticed Shuichi’s hesitation and confusion, because then she added,

“I want you to reveal everything that happened and convince everyone...”

Shuichi looked around the courtroom to see everyone’s faces. They all looked like they didn’t want to believe it. Kaito was gritting his teeth with his eyes closed, as if trying to think of anything that could prove Kaede was not the culprit. Gonta’s eyes were swimming in disbelief as if he wanted to believe that somehow this was all a nightmare and that he would wake up eventually. Tenko was sweating nervously as she looked on at Kaede, expecting her to say that maybe her claims were false.

Wherever Shuichi looked he could see doubt all over his classmates’ faces. Is this what he wanted to do? Nail in the final nail on Kaede’s coffin and convince everyone to vote for her as the culprit?

Shuichi gripped over his heart.

He knew Kaede wanted him to fight for the truth like she wanted. But at the cost of her own life? There was no way he could do that. Even after coming this far. Kaede may be prepared, but he wasn’t. He knew it would be cowardly to back out after everything he had done up to this point but, he wanted to find a reason to still believe in her.

No. He needed to find a reason to still believe in her.

“Shuichi?”

His silence worried her. He looked up to see Kaede’s concerned expression.

“Hey, Shuichi! Wha’cha doing? Stalling?” Kokichi asked in a humorous yet dark tone

Shuichi froze. Was he just stalling? She was ready to face the truth of whatever Shuichi had to present but delaying the inevitable seemed to make it harder for the pianist to stay calm in this atmosphere. Shuichi had to make a decision.

Should he convince everyone that Kaede was the culprit? Or should he try to reexamine the case one more time and try to find some sort of hole in Kaede’s testimony? Maybe even find something that can save her. But what if that conclusion was wrong? He could drive everyone to their deaths. Was it worth the risk?

Shuichi knew he had to make a decision.

“Kaede, I’m... so sorry.”

Kaede could only look at him in confusion.

“Wow! Shuichi! You really are heartless!” Kokichi exclaimed with an empty smile. “After Kaede guided you to an answer everyone was looking for, you STILL want to delay the inevitable?”

Shuichi knew that this decision would be hard on Kaede, especially after how much she sacrificed. But he knew that this is the decision he had made. He needed to believe in her. Believe that this choice would lead to the truth.

“I’m... I’m not trying to delay the inevitable. I want to find the truth, because I know everyone’s lives are riding on this...”

At those words, his eyes met with the Ultimate Pianist’s.

“But... I have some doubts of my own,” Shuichi admitted.

“Doubts?” Kaito asked.

“Which is why... **I want to ask Kaede, one question** ,” Shuichi said, eyes still locked onto Kaede’s.

“If Kaede can answer my question and clear my own doubt, then I’ll accept that as the truth and fulfill her wish...”

Kaede could only look at him with confusion and shock. Shuichi couldn’t really tell what Kaede was feeling right now. Was she worried that Shuichi was lying for her sake? Was it possible that she actually believed Shuichi’s words? Maybe she even had hoped that his question could save her. Or perhaps she believed he was stalling as a way to fight back Monokuma.

Either way, Kaede seemed a bit reluctant to trust Shuichi at the moment.

“Shuichi...” It was the only thing she could say. She already had so much on her shoulders. Shuichi knew the only thing he was doing was only putting on more weight.

“I-I know it’s a lot to ask Kaede. Which is why I’m saying that I’ll only ask one question. I won’t press any more information out of you after this if my doubt is answered.”

Shuichi leaned forward on his podium, his palms sweating as his nails dug into the wood.

“I’m asking you- no, I’m begging you Kaede! Please, let me do this!”

Shuichi looked at her to see her downcast eyes swimming to decide whether to trust Shuichi or not. Her lips quivering. Her hands gripping her elbows as the fabric of her sleeves wrinkled in her grip.

 _Kaede_...

He could feel sweat running down on the back of his neck. Would she choose to let Shuichi go forward with his choice? Or would she try to convince him to go with the original plan and reveal all of Kaede’s actions as a way of finding the truth?

After a brief moment of silence, Kaede then locked eyes with the detective, with a reassuring yet forced smile.

“...Alright, I’ll let you ask your question. So, whatever doubt you have, I’ll answer it.”

_Kaede... Thank you..._

“Well, get to it. What’s your question?” Maki interject unnecessarily.

Shuichi took a deep breath. Kaede had given him this one chance. This last chance. Perhaps a chance to overturn this case. There may be a chance that this would just lead in just one big circle. But there was no way he could let his opportunity run away. There was no way he’d let Kaede down now. He carefully thought his question and how to phrase it. But when he did, he turned his attention to the entire class.

“Kaede, is it okay with you to tell us everything you did during this case?”

The pianist was held aback by Shuichi question.

“Seriously Poo-ichi?! We gotta do the same shit all over again?” Miu complained. Possibly because she didn’t want to hear the terrible crime all over again.

“I agree, it feels a bit redundant,” the Ultimate Tennis Player, Ryoma added.

Shuichi knew that his classmates would react this way. But he had to be sure.

“I know we already went over this, but like I said- I need to confirm one more thing. If that’s okay with everyone that is,” Shuichi said, adding the last part with nervousness. Even if Kaede might be okay with it, who knows what everyone else is thinking.

“Of course it’s okay!” Kaito interjected before anyone else could speak. “If it’ll prove Kaede’s innocence, then of course we’re fine with it! I’m sure everyone agrees!” he added, as if speaking on everyone’s behalf.

Shuichi could only tug at the brim of his hat.

“I don’t know if it’ll prove Kaede’s innocence. I just want to check something. I may be just over thinking things and be wrong.”

Shuichi did not want to bring any sort of false hope onto the table. Even though everyone wanted to believe that Kaede wasn’t the culprit, he was sure they couldn’t see any other explanation other than that idea. The only thing that was now pushing him down this path was his belief in Kaede.

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to reexamine the case once more. There is a possibility that we may have overlooked a crucial detail that could change the outcome of this case,” Kiyo asserted.

“Atua says that Kaede should give her testimony,” Angie declared while holding her prayer pose.

It seems that a some have voiced for Kaede to give her testimony on the matter. Even if some disagreed, they didn’t seem to say anything. Even Kokichi, who believed in Kaede guilt, was oddly quiet. Possibly because he was curious about the outcome.

“Okay, I’ll give my testimony. If you find anything wrong, then feel free to correct me, Shuichi. But if there’s nothing wrong-”

“Don’t worry Kaede, I won’t break my promise with you...”

To be honest, Shuichi had no idea where he was going with this. At this point he was just going by his detective instinct. There’s no hard evidence to prove her innocence. But, he has already made it this far. The only thing he can hope for is to find something... anything, that can change the outcome of this case.

_This is it... I can’t back down now!_

 

_**Non stop Debate... START!** _

 

“While we were setting up our trap, I was setting up the camera facing the moving bookcase,” Kaede stated and added,

“That was when _**I set the flash**_ , to lure Rantaro in.”

“Then I climbed up the ladder to examine the the grate.”

Then Keebo asked, raising his index finger, “That was when you _**opened the grate**_ so the shot put ball could utilize the vent, correct?”

“Yeah...” Kaede replied with a voice of regret.

“Then I _**rearranged the books on the bookshelf**_ to make a path for the shot put ball while pretending to organize the books.”

“That basically set the path of the shot put ball...” Ryoma added wistfully.

“So all the ball had to do was roll down the vent to the path made by the books,” Kirumi stated.

“And it all went according to plan! The ball rolled down just as Kaede planned...” Kokichi added and then let out a burst of fake tears as he added,

“Waaaaaaaaaah! And fell on _**top of poor Rantaro’s head!**_ ”

“Did we really get anywhere with this?” Maki questioned.

“ **THAT’S WRONG!”**

 

_**Break!** _

 

“Hold on, Kokichi! There’s something wrong with what you said,” Shuichi replied.

“Huh? ‘Wrong?’ What’s wrong?”

“No, Kokichi’s right. I set up the camera right at the bookshelf and the books were arranged right where the ball would fall,” Kaede explained.

Shuichi however, shook his head.

“I’m not talking about the design of the trap. I’m talking about how Rantaro died.”

Kokichi only tilted his head in confusion. Shuichi was sure that everyone was on the same page. So he pulled out the one piece of evidence that contradicted Kokichi’s statement.

“Kaede designed the trap to fall on top of Rantaro’s head. However, according to the Monokuma file,” he said while pulling out the said file and read aloud,

“He died from a blow from _the back of the head_ ,” he read aloud.

“Wh-what?” stammered Kaede.

“So rather than the ball falling on top of Rantaro’s head, like Kaede planned, the ball fell and hit on the back of Rantaro’s head?” Keebo reiterated. Shuichi nodded in response.

“So, what you’re saying is that, if the ball didn’t kill Rantaro with the way Kaede set the trap, then that means that Kaede’s innocent!” Kaito cheered with a bright smile, relieved to know that the kindhearted girl wasn’t the murderer.

Some of the classmates who believed in Kaede started showing signs of relief that Kaede may not actually be the murderer. The prime suspect seemed to think otherwise.

“No, just because it didn’t hit Rantaro the way the trap was designed, doesn’t mean I didn’t kill him,” Kaede asserted. That small claim was too good to be true. How she wanted it to be true. But if it wasn’t, then everyone would die.

Kokichi added an unnecessary, 'Yeah!'

“Maybe he found something on the ground, like a penny. Rantaro probably bent down to pick it up and then-WHAM!” Kokichi swung his arm at the sound effect he made, as if to emphasize his point. This only made Kaito respond in anger.

“Don’t be stupid! If there was a penny on the ground, Shuichi would have found it there or maybe on Rantaro’s-”

Kaito then noticed Kokichi snickering as Kaito realized what he was saying. He banged his fists together in frustration.

“Gah! Why are we even talking about this?!” he exclaimed.

“But Kokichi does bring up a valid point,” Kiyo added while playing with his medals. “Just because Rantaro died differently, doesn’t mean that Kaede isn’t our prime suspect anymore.”

“Are you trying to thrust the blame on to Kaede?! You are a filthy degenerate male!” Tenko said in her signature fight pose, as if ready to fight Kiyo if he attempted to say anymore.

“Nyeh, maybe Kaede used a magic shot put ball. Those are exclusive items that only reveal themselves when the planets align. That’s when their magic is strongest,” Himiko responded lazily, yet was somewhat eager as she talked about the proclaimed magic item.

“Oh! That reminds of that one RPG where the main character has to defeat the main antagonist before the planets align. Otherwise he’ll use that power to conquer the world.” Tsumugi recalled. Her hands were clasped together with her eyes shining as she continued with the story of how she cosplayed as the main protagonist’s love interest. At this point, everyone lost interest in what Tsumugi had to say and continued their current discussion.

“Maybe Kaede made a mistake when building the trap. That could have caused it to change its trajectory,” Maki reasoned, who was yet convinced that Kaede was not the culprit.

“But if you take a look at the picture Miu’s drone took,” Shuichi asserted while pulling out the said picture. “There doesn’t seem to be any alleged errors that could change the shot put ball’s trajectory. At least, not any that could cause Rantaro to die the way he did.”

“Yeah! And you have me to thank for that!” Miu interrupted as she let out a loud, proud laugh.

“Shuichi...”

Shuichi looked to see Kaede still being hesitant, but then added,

“I know you think this is a vital contradiction. But it’s just as Kiyo says. For all we know, Rantaro could’ve done something to make the ball hit him on the back of the head instead.” She then raised her volume. “Please don’t put anyone in anymore danger than they already are! There’s no proof that shows otherwise!”

Shuichi stayed silent to Kaede’s claims. She was scared that this was leading to the wrong the conclusion and leading everyone to their inevitable death. But Shuichi remained patient. Because he saw another contradiction in Kaede’s statement.

“Actually, I do have proof.”

Kaede only widened her eyes. Before Kaede could say anything else, Shuichi pulled out another piece of evidence. Kaede looked at the picture the moving bookshelf camera took. The one of Rantaro looking to grab the camera.

“If you pay close attention to the picture, you can see Rantaro is looking **straight ahead**.”

“Oh! Shuichi right!” The Ultimate Entomologist exclaimed.

“And if he was looking straight ahead, then the ball definetely would’ve hit him on top of the head,” Ryoma concluded and added, “But instead, it was on the back of the head.”

“This picture was taken moments before he died... or so we thought,” Shuichi concluded.

“Then that proves it! Rantaro wasn’t killed by Kaede trap! He was killed by something else!” Tenko quickly announced. And with that she stood in her fighting stance. “Alright! Which one of you degenerate males killed Rantaro and tried to let Kaede take the blame?!” she demanded.

“G-Gonta no kill Rantaro!” Gonta quickly replied with a worried expression.

“Hold on! Why are you accusing the guys all of a sudden?!” remarked Kaito, but still looked nervous from Tenko threat.

“E-Everyone, let’s calm down. Rather than throwing accusations, we need to solve this new mystery,” Shuichi tried to reason.

“I agree with Shuichi. We need to find the truth of this case,” Keebo defended.

Shuichi pondered at the two possible truths. One was that Kaede killed Rantaro using the trap she had constructed. Then, by some crazy coincidence, the shot put ball hit Rantaro on the back of the head. The second was that there was a third party that killed Rantaro. Despite this being the possibility he desperately wanted to believe, he just couldn’t figure out the method. After all, this would mean that the third party knew everything about Shuichi’s plan and Kaede’s trap.

How on earth did Rantaro die if Kaede didn’t kill him? The Ultimate Detective found himself in a slump as he covered his face, trying to dig deep and find the answer.

“I don’t know about this everyone.”

Shuichi’s attention was immediately pulled out from his own head and back at the pianist’s.

“It just seems too convenient. I set up this elaborate trap and yet I didn’t kill him?” Kaede questioned. “You guys don’t need to do this! There’s just no way I didn’t kill him! I’m sure Rantaro just moved slightly and that’s when the ball hit him. I just...” As she continued to speak, tears started welling up in her eye, almost ready to roll down her cheeks.

_Kaede..._

She was so convinced that she was the culprit. Was he wrong? Maybe he was just running away from the truth. And if that’s the case, all it was doing was just hurting her in the end. Just as he was about to comfort her, a loud booming voice echoed through the courtroom.

“Don’t be stupid Kaede! We’re doing this because we want to!”

Shuichi turned to see Kaito’s stern face which was looking at Kaede.

“If there’s a chance that we’re the ones wrong, then we’ll work hard to find the right answer! No matter what!” Kaito yelled, hoping that his voice will get through to Kaede somehow.

“The purpose of the class trial is to find all the answers, right? So until I hear how Rantaro got hit on the back of the head, I’m gonna continue fighting!” he proclaimed while pounding his fists together with a wide smile across his face. Shuichi wasn’t sure if he managed to convince Kaede. But Kaito's words did give Shuichi the confidence boost he needed to keep going with his theory.

_Thank you, Kaito._

“Nee-hee-hee. Wow Kaito! You sounded just like a cartoon character. Did you get that quote from a recent hero show or something?” Kokichi snickered.

Kaito fumed, saying how he differed, believing he sounded cool there.

“In any case, I agree with Kaito in this matter. If there are any lingering doubts, we should answer them first. Otherwise, we would be unable to vote in good conscious,” Kiyo reasoned logically.

It seemed that Kaito’s speech did manage to convince the others to seek the unanswered question, as they began trying to come up with ideas of their own as to why Rantaro died the way he did.

“Maybe culprit enter from rear door and hit Rantaro there?” the gentle giant suggested.

“No, that’s impossible. If they did enter, then their picture would have been taken,” Keebo addressed.

“Then, maybe it was just like Ryoma said. The culprit was hiding in a place where Kaede and Shuichi wouldn’t find them and then attacked Rantaro when he was alone,” Kaito remarked.

Shuichi gently rebuked that claim, “I don’t think that’s it either. Remember that the front door camera took pictures of everyone-”

“Actually, I agree with Kaito on that.”

Shuichi turned to see Tsumugi who had interrupted Shuichi. She was in her listless pose, looking far away with her index finger up.

“I think that the culprit was already in there. I can’t think of any other explanation...”

Shuichi was about to interject, but then thought for a moment. The culprit was already there? Then does that mean...

 

_Select the culprit_

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Are- are you saying that Rantaro... committed suicide?” Shuichi asked, unsure if Tsumugi was serious.

“S-suicide?!” Kaito exclaimed, unable to fathom such a possibility. Kaito wasn’t the only one though. Almost everyone could not even believe Tsumugi’s suggestion.

“I know it’s hard to believe but... it’s the only idea that I can think of,” Tsumugi explained.

Shuichi covered his mouth with his hand as he thought of this abnormal idea. He began to recollect all the facts. If Kaede did not kill Rantaro, then that means that a third party did. But the third party had to know everything about Kaede’s trap, from the murder weapon to her set up. And it wasn’t just that, they had to know about Shuichi’s camera set up and the camera intervals. However, Shuichi only told Kaede about his plan to catch the mastermind. Not to mention, the only ones who knew about the camera intervals at the time were Miu and himself. Even if there was a possibility that they somehow found out about Shuichi’s plan to capture the mastermind, it would go against all odds if they happened to know about Kaede’s trap as well.

The pictures only showed Rantaro entering the library at the time of the murder. The one who would’ve seen the shot put ball fall from the bookshelf was Rantaro. The one who would have discovered Kaede’s set up was Rantaro.

All evidence pointed to Rantaro being the culprit. But was this the right answer? It didn’t feel right...

“Hold on! We can’t just decide that Rantaro actually committed suicide! I mean- there’s just no way!” Kaito declared.

“So you’re basically saying that that idea is wrong and that Kaede is the culprit?” Maki questioned, making a strong point by glaring at him.

“What?! NO! I just- I just can’t believe this...” Kaito said, scratching his hair in frustration.

“He did say that he was going to do something about the time limit, right? Maybe... this was his way of doing it...” Ryoma added sullenly, while pulling his hat down.

“Rantaro did seem unsure of everything. With his talent forgotten and the fact that he had strange memory about this ‘Ultimate Hunt’, I wouldn’t be surprised if these thoughts managed to harm his psyche,” Kiyo added, throwing his input on the human mind.

Everyone seemed to start to agree with Tsumugi’s idea as they began to throw in their own suggestions as to why Rantaro may have committed suicide. Then Kokichi made a sudden outburst to the monochrome bear.

“Hey Monokuma, if a person took their own life, would the person who drove that person on the edge be the blackened?” Kokichi asked.

“Nope! The person who actually commits the crime is automatically the blackened. Even if one made a complex plan for them, they would just end up being executed along with everyone else if the blackened manages to get away with it,” Monokuma explained, covering his mouth as he laughed venomously.

“So, in other words, it would be pointless to be an accomplice if they just get executed as well,” Keebo managed to concluded.

“Is there a reason why you brought this up , Kokichi?” Kirumi asked, her head tilted in confusion.

The small dictator pulled his arms behind his head as let a wide grin grow across his face.

“I just wanted to make sure we vote for the right person. Whether we vote for Rantaro, who actually committed suicide...”

At this, Kokichi brought his finger up to his lips.

“Or if we vote for Kaede who was responsible for Rantaro’s death in the first place.”

Shuichi gritted his teeth as Kokichi said those words, but still tried to remain rational in front of his classmates. Kaito however, was more expressive as he pounded his fists into his podium.

“What are you talking about?! It’s not like Kaede told him to commit suicide, you bastard!” he exclaimed angrily.

“But maybe when he saw someone try and kill, he realized someone had an out for him, and that was when he decided to take his own life because of that,” Kokichi explained.

“Have you been listening at all?! Kaede was targeting the mastermind! Not Rantaro!” Kaito yelled back.

“But it doesn’t change the fact that Rantaro’s death was my fault...”

Shuichi looked to see Kaede, looking down with her arms wrapped around her, acting almost as a protective cocoon. He could see Kaede’s lips quivering as Kokichi made his arguments.

“If I hadn’t set that trap... if I decided to trust Shuichi with his plan... if I hadn’t been so rash...” Kaede said with a voice of regret tracing her words.

“Kaede...” Shuichi murmured.

He knew that even if the girl didn’t kill Rantaro, the events that caused his death were still Kaede’s fault. Not to mention, she probably felt guilty over the fact that she let the thought of murder cross her mind and as a result, started this killing game.

“Hmm, but then how would Rantaro been able to kill himself? Was there perhaps a divine intervention?” Angie pondered.

“No! It has to be the magic shot put ball!” Himiko exclaimed in an unsurprising lazy way.

“We’re bringing up the magic shot put ball again?” Tsumugi asked.

“I think the most likely conclusion was that Rantaro utilized Kaede’s set up by throwing the shot back near the vent. Then, he stood where the shot put ball originally fell with his back to the bookshelf. That would explain the wound on the back of his head,” Kiyo answered.

“’With his back facing the bookshelf?’” Ryoma repeated, wanting to make sure what he heard was true.

Kirumi pondered at Kiyo’s deduction.

“That does seem to make sense... after all, if Rantaro did face the other way, that would also explain the blood splatter on the bookshelf,” Kirumi pondered.

Shuichi did wonder about the way the blood was splattered on the bookshelf. The blood coated all on the bookshelf down and up. If Rantaro really did get struck by the top of the head, then there would only be one section of the bookshelf that would be covered in blood. But Rantaro was struck on the back of the head. And the only way for the bookshelf to have blood splattered that way was to stand with their back facing the bookshelf, despite how ridiculous it sounded. It seems like this case just kept bringing more and more questions.

Shuichi pondered at the possibilities. There were only two options. There was another culprit who struck Rantaro. Or, like Kiyo said, Rantaro positioned himself in a way that would cause the blood to splatter on that way.

“But... can we really be sure?” the pianist asked.

Shuichi could see Kaede looking down as her eyes were swimming with doubt and guilt. Even if everyone else agreed with Kiyo’s line of logic, there was one person who needed convincing. He needed to convince her, otherwise, they would get nowhere.

If Kaede needed a reason to believe, then he’ll have to create that reason himself.

 

_**Non stop Debate...START!** _

 

“I know that everyone believes that Rantaro committed suicide... but _**can we really be sure**_?” Kaede asked.

“Of course we can be sure!” Tenko chimed in. She then added,

“Rantaro saw the ball fall and that’s when _**he knew about your trap**_ _!_ ”

“But, could he have used my _ **trap in time**_ to kill himself?” Kaede questioned.

“Rantaro did not necessarily have to climb up to the vent and place the shot... he could’ve simply _**thrown the shot put ball**_ back there,” Keebo answered.

“Nyeh... that would save a lot of time...” Himiko mused quietly.

“But... if what Kiyo said was true... then we would’ve seen a _**picture with Rantaro’s back facing us!**_ ” Kaede pointed out.

“Hmph! I think that’s stupidly obvious Ka-idiot! We probably _ **just missed it**_ since the cameras had a thirty second interval,” Miu said, brushing it off as if it were obvious.

“Would there have been enough time to not take a picture?” Maki quickly questioned quietly, doubting the Ultimate Inventor’s words.

“Kaede not culprit! Gentlemen always believe in friends!” Gonta managed to cheer.

“We can’t be sure of that! We have to be completely sure since everyone’s lives are at risk!” Kaede cautioned.

 

“ **I’ll reveal the truth of this case!”**

 

_**BREAK!** _

 

“Hold on, Kaede. There’s something else that you don’t know,” Shuichi quickly replied before the pianist could say anything.

“Huh?”

“Ooh! Shuichi making a discovery of a lifetime? Well, don’t just stand there! Tell us! Tell us!” Kokichi mused with his eyes sparkling wide.

Shuichi took a quiet breath. He recalled Kaede’s words. It wasn’t just her life on the line, but everyone else’s. He knew that lying would be a big risk. But he also had to remind himself once again that he needed to get through to her.

“While I was investigating the cameras, I noticed something odd about the camera facing the moving bookshelf.”

“Something odd?” Gonta parroted back.

“Yes, while I was retrieving that specific camera, I noticed that the camera was already _turned off_ ,” Shuichi asserted.

Shuichi could see Kaede’s eyes widen in surprise at this new information. Shuichi felt bad for giving Kaede this false hope. But he tried to convince himself that it was for the sake of finding the truth.

“How would that be possible?” Keebo asked, while trying to wrap his head around the idea.

“I think it was when Rantaro noticed the flash,” Shuichi answered. With that, he pulled out the photo of Rantaro, reaching out for the camera and explained,

“Since we managed to confirm that shot put ball missed, Rantaro must have been able to retrieve the camera, giving him the chance to turn it off. That’s probably why we never got a picture of Rantaro with his back facing the bookshelf.”

“Nee-hee-hee! Wow, Rantaro really covered his tracks. He must have really wanted to get back at the person who wanted to kill him,” Kokichi mused ruthlessly as a devilish grin appeared on his lips.

Shuichi couldn’t help but glare daggers at Kokichi. It’s as if he wanted to get amusement out of Kaede’s guilt. As if he was hungry for more, he then added,

“Well at least our detective managed to discover the truth before everyone made the wrong choice and gotten themselves killed... Right, Kaede?” He asked the said pianist with an innocent looking smile.

Kaede didn’t answer as she only made eye contact with the ground. Shuichi wished that he could’ve taken the supreme leader’s scarf and stuff it in his mouth before he could say anymore. Fortunately, it seemed that Kokichi was done messing with Kaede.

Just as Shuichi was going to ask what they should discuss next, the cubs made a sudden outburst.

“GEEZ! This is getting boring now! Where’s the climax?!” Monokid said, breaking one of his endless stashes of guitars.

“How are we going to make a profit if this just becomes one big cliche?” Monosuke leered

“Um... wait so I’m confused? Did everyone already vote for Kaede as the culprit or...” Monotaro asked as if he barely paid attention to the entire trial.

Monophanie was already snoozing away while Monodam remained silent as per usual.

“Well, it seems like this trial has already become boring... so then I think it’s time to begin the voting!” Monokuma cheered, as if making sure to be a good parent and entertain his children.

“Wha-what?!” Kaede stammered, “But we still need to-”

“Does this look like a face that cares?!” Monokuma chastised. “I think you guys have discussed enough to realize who the real culprit is.”

Shuichi zoned out for a moment. While it is true that they managed to piece together the facts of the possibility of Rantaro committing suicide, was it really the answer? Shuichi couldn’t help but doubt himself for a moment. There were still so many questions that Shuichi yet had answers to. Right now, it seemed like it was a fifty-fifty shot. Is the one who took Rantaro's life Kaede, or Rantaro himself?

It may not be just Kaede, but there may be a few others who believed she was still the culprit. He could only cross his fingers and hope that he managed to find the real truth behind this crime as the young cubs picked up on Monokuma's cue.

“With that being said it’s time for the moment everyone’s been waiting for!” Monotaro announced.

“Alright you bastards, press the button in front of you to cast your votes,” Monophanie instructed, now already awake. It was like she was never asleep in the first place and only acted for theatrics. No surprise.

Monosuke chimed in, “And be sure to vote, because refusing will only result in death!”

“Hell yeah!” Monokid screamed. “Will pick the right one or the fuckin' wrong one?!”

With that the screen of the podiums lit up, displaying all of the student's faces. Shuichi's eyes immediately locked on Kaede's picture. Beads of sweat started forming on the back of his neck. Did he really find the truth or did he just lead everyone to the wrong answer? Shuichi shut his eyes. The only reason they reached this point was because Shuichi made this choice. He had to see it to the end, no matter what. Eventually, his finger pressed on Rantaro's picture. At that moment, the display flickered with the words 'now loading.'

“Now then, let's see the results!” Monokuma cheered.

As if on cue, a larger screen began to lower from nowhere, displaying the results of the vote. From the looks of it, there were about three or four people who voted for Kaede as the blackened. However, it seemed that Shuichi was able to convince the majority that Rantaro was the culprit himself as he had the greater number of votes.

After showing results, the display of the larger screen suddenly changed from the results of the vote to a rolling roulette with pixelated pictures of everyone's faces. The roulette had a light spinning around each of the student’s faces. As it passed by Kaede's Shuichi couldn't help but hold his breath, even though he knew that the majority voted for Rantaro. So she had to be safe. Right?

Soon, the light started showing signs of slowing down. Finally it froze right on Rantaro's face. The roulette began to shine all the different lights with a victory tune playing along. As if it were following a scene of a winning at a casino, a rain of coins started falling out from the slot.

“COOOOORRRRREEEECTTTT! The person who killed Rantaro Amami, was none other than the man himself!” Monokuma bellowed.

Shuichi immediately let out a a breath that he kept holding. He was right. He found the truth.

And Kaede wasn't the culprit.

Shuichi quickly turned his attention to the pianist. Her eyes were wide at the display. Kaede was so convinced that she had killed Rantaro. She was even ready to give up her life because of it. She was so sure. Before Shuichi could say anything, the pianist's knees began to buckle and her knees landed on the floor with a resonating 'thud.'

“Kaede!”

Shuichi quickly made his way to the pianist. It wasn't just him though. Kaito followed suit as well as Tenko and a couple others. Gonta, not having to move considering he was next to her on the podiums, was hovering over her while asking gently if she was okay.

Shuichi soon was in front of the pianist, but he couldn't see her face clearly as she was facing the ground. Shuichi knelt down.

“Kaede, are you alright?” He asked gently. Despite being the Ultimate Detective, he couldn’t get a read on Kaede. Was she happy that she wasn’t the culprit? Was she shocked? Guilty?

However, Shuichi didn’t have time to ponder as he heard the girl hiccup. Shuichi pulled all of his attention to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. It was there that he noticed how much she was trembling.

“Kaede?"

“I-...”

Kaede continued crying as she made no move whatsoever to face her fellow classmates. But she moved her hands across her face. A futile attempt to get rid of the already flowing tears.

“I’m... so sorry...” she finally managed to say.

Shuichi just squeezed her shoulder.

“It’s alright, Kaede...” he reassured.

She just shook her head.

“No, it’s not. It’s all my fault... I tried to murder, I started this stupid class trial, and I almost got everyone killed because of what I did!” she cried out.

Shuichi wanted to refute all of those claims and deny that she isn’t the one at fault. But... there was truth in her words.

Kaede did try to murder, even if it was for the sake of saving her classmates. She refused to take the First Blood Perk, all so she could try and expose the Mastermind. And if it hadn’t been for Shuichi, everyone would have chosen the wrong person and would have all gotten executed. Everything pointed it being her fault.

Before Shuichi could do anything, Shuichi could see in his peripheral vision someone kneeling down next to him. He looked to see Kaito, beside Kaede.

“...So, what are you going to do?” he asked bluntly.

Kaede slowly, but finally looked up. Tears staining her cheeks, she glanced at Kaito.

“Huh?”

“What happened to the gung-ho Kaede we know? The one who says that we should become friends after all this? The one who stays positive? The one who keeps telling us to work together?!” Kaito demanded but not in a harsh way, but rather in a loud, genuine concerned tone.

“You’re still alive, aren’t you? We managed to survive the class trial, didn’t we? Shuichi risked everything to prove your innocence. And Rantaro died to protect everyone from the time limit, right? That includes you too!”

With that he put his fists together, his signature posture of determination.

“So, do your best and live! We need to work together like you wanted, right?”

Kaede could only look at him with wide eyes of surprise. It seems that Kaito’s words managed to get through once again. This time, it got through to one person Shuichi was most worried about.

Kaede wiped her tears away and gave a firm nod to Kaito.

“R-right.” Despite Kaede’s voice still cracking a bit, Shuichi could see that the determine look on her face returned. Shuichi couldn’t help the smile growing across his face.

“Ugh! This is just too sappy!” a voice rang out.

All the students turned their head to the source of the voice. It was none other than Monosuke.

“This isn’t a harem drama where everything is all mushy. This here is a killing game!” he roared.

“Hell yeah! I think it’s time to make this more interesting!” Monokid cheered as well.

“Huh? Time for what? Monodam, do you know what they’re talking about?” Monotaro asked, only for Monodam to only answer in silence.

“A-Are you talking about the punishment?” Monophanie quivered.

Shuichi was held aback. Punishment? But Rantaro was already dead. Shuichi could already hear Monokuma laugh. Immediately, Shuichi felt shivers traveling up his spine.

“What are you talking about?!” Kaito demanded, now on his feet. Shuichi followed his suit, but then extended his hand to Kaede to help her up. Kaede looked up at Shuichi, gratefully accepting Shuichi’s hand.

“Indeed, this ‘punishment’ is an execution for the culprit, correct? However, the culprit, Rantaro Amami, is already dead,” Korekiyo inquired.

Monokuma only laughed again at Kiyo’s response.

“What’s so funny, you degenerate bear?!” Tenko barked, already in her fighting stance.

“Well, I just find it funny that despite there being no execution, you just feel so damn sure that there won’t be one in the near future,” Monokuma responded, and then added,

“After all, the moment the Ultimate ‘whoever he was’ died, that marked the day the killing game started!”

At those words, Shuichi could see Kaede freeze. Even though Kaede did not kill him, his death was still ultimately her fault.

“So, to celebrate this moment, I’ve prepared something very special for each and every one of you.”

With those words, another mechanism began to rise up in front of the seat Monokuma was currently in. Shuichi looked closely to see that it was a red button with another screen on it. Shuichi gulped, he already had bad feelings about this. Kaede was fidgeting with the brim of her skirt, not liking the sight of it nor the sound of Monokuma’s devilish laugh.

“So, then... it’s time to commemorate this special moment! Let’s give it everything we got!!!”

With that, Monokuma pulled a wooden gavel from behind and pounded it down on the button. On the screen it showed a black background with a white text, saying ‘Initiate!’

 

...

 

Immediately, the large screen that displayed the results immediately flickered off, cutting to feedback. Soon it showed a dark tunnel lined with metal and all different kinds of recognizable traps of pitfals, cages, flamethrowers, and even fake platforms. Shuichi recognized the location.

_The underground passage?_

Suddenly, the camera shook a little. Shuichi thought that it was probably because of the poor camera quality. But then, he saw the Monokubs in the shot. They were carrying flamethrowers, dynamite, and celebratory poppers(?) Behind them, he could see some sort of fire growing behind them. Then, another explosion with ash and metal flying out.

It wasn’t long before Monosuke started throwing the dynamite behind his back, followed by an ear pounding explosion. Monokid started playing his guitar, which had a flamethrower attached to it, as the destruction continued. Monotaro was already going crazy as he hit the switch and more explosions occurred, while firing more of the party poppers.

With each explosions, the ceiling began to collapse in on itself as well as the walls as the tunnel began to crumble in on itself. But, just when it seemed like it was gonna end, Monodam, pulled a grenade out from behind and pulled the chain from it. Without wasting a second, he flung the grenade at Monokid’s face, causing him to trip and fall. Before he could even get up, the grenade exploded, leaving nothing but ash.

Pretty soon, all the cubs jumped out from the manhole with smoke and an earth shattering explosion following behind them. Monokuma stood behind the manhole as the cubs flew out. He then placed a sign that said ‘out of order.’ With that, the feed cut, leaving the students to swallow what they just saw.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you guys believe me if I said that I came up with the idea of the destruction of the Underground Passageway while writing this chapter?  
> Also, I was inspired with the idea of Rantaro 'committing suicide' by another fanfic by cerellium.


	3. Chapter 3

_The tunnel..._

Kaede could only stare in shock as she realized that the one chance of them escaping was now nothing more than a pile of rubble. It wasn't long before everyone began voicing their opinions.

“Wh-what the fuck?!”

“T-The tunnel... it's...”

“Dammit! Damn that bear!”

“We... we really are trapped.”

This was bad, everyone's already panicking.

“E-everyone, calm down!” Kaede tried to reassure.

As if to make matters worse, the cubs appeared back on their podiums.

“Monokid!” Monotaro cried.

“BBBBLLLLLLRRRRRRGGGGGGG!” Monophanie vomited.

Monokuma soon followed in his appearance.

“Monokid! My precious little cub! To think that he'd-,” Monokuma paused mid sentence and then added an unnecessary.

“Actually, y'know what? It's fine, because I still have four of my precious cubs!”

As the Monokubs gasped at their father's remark, Kaede could only sigh. Monokuma had already proved that he didn't care about human life. It's not surprising that he'd care less about his own children either. But the others had something way bigger on their minds right now than just a dead robotic bear.

“HEY! What gives?!” Kaito screamed, getting everyone's attention, including the headmaster himself.

“Hmm? You're gonna have to be more specific.”

“Why did you destroy that tunnel?!” Kaito exclaimed, giving the bear an unwavering glare to show that he wanted answers.

Monokuma only laughed at Kaito's demands.

“Isn't it obvious? It's to mark the start of the killing game,” Monokuma simply answered. And with that he disappeared from the courtroom, leaving the students lingering in limbo. His cubs followed suit with their 'So long, bear well' jingle.

“That's not answering my question, dammit!”

“Kaito, you really are an idiot,” Kokichi simply said.

Kaito turned around, already frustrated with Monokuma, so it only fueled Kaito's anger that someone called him an idiot (again). Before Kaito could say anything, Kokichi responded.

“He wants to make sure that this killing game is on the ball. To do that, he wanted to destroy any chance of us escaping... and he went as far as to destroy our only way out,” Kokichi snickered.

Kaede froze. Monokuma's goal was to destroy their last hope, and leave them with nothing but despair. That was his true goal.

“I don't see what the big deal is. There was no way we were going to escape through that tunnel. Monokuma just built it to mess with us,” Maki said bluntly.

“Well... I mean... I'm sure there was something we could do in there to guarantee an escape...” Kaito claimed, but not with as much confidence.

“Well, either way, we're fucked now!” Miu exclaimed angrily.

“I agree, with such destruction, I don't think that we'll be able to use that tunnel now...” Keebo murmured solemnly.

“It is quite unfortunate...” Kirumi added.

Kaede grew worried. Everyone was already starting to give up. This can't happen. In a killing game, that is the worst thing to do.

“Everyone! We can't just give up!” Kaede exclaimed, a little too loudly as it got everyone's attention. They were all looking at her, waiting to hear more of what she had to say. Kaede said the only thing she could say, which were words of encouragement.

“Monokuma may have destroyed the tunnel, but that doesn't mean he's won!” With that, Kaede balled her fists to show her determination. “We can still do this! We're gonna put an end to this killing game!”

Kaede didn’t know if she did a good job reassuring everyone, but there was no way in hell she was gonna let everyone get discouraged. If they just gave up, this would only give Monokuma what he wanted.

“Wow! Kaede!”

Kaede recognized that voice. The hairs on her neck slowly grew stiff as she turned to the little dictator.

“You’re willing to end the killing game?! The one YOU started?” Kokichi mocked.

Almost immediately, Kaito came to her defense.

“Are you trying to start something, you asshole?!” he yelled.

Kokichi backed away, holding his hands up defensively, as if he were innocent.

“I’m just stating the facts, Kaito. I mean it’s just as Monokuma said!”

And with that said, Kokichi lifted his finger, posing it below his devilish smirk.

“ _ **The killing game started the moment Kaede tried to kill Rantaro.”**_

At those words, Kaede’s blood ran cold. It was true. The moment murder crossed her mind, she fell right into Monokuma’s hands. Even though it was an attempt to kill the mastermind and save everyone, it was still murder, nonetheless. As much as it frustrated and hurt Kaede, there was no way she could argue-

“Is Kaede really the reason?”

Everyone turned to see the Ultimate Detective voice his opinion.

“Hmm? Wha’cha mean, Shuichi?” Kokichi asked, tilting his head like an innocent child, despite his cruel statement.

“I think the killing game started the moment we became trapped in this academy, the moment Monokuma threatened us with our lives. With that in mind...”

Shuichi turned to face Kokichi, eyes unwavering.

“...Is Kaede really the one responsible for starting this killing game?”

Kaede could only stare at Shuichi as he said those words. She didn’t know what to feel at this point. On the one hand, she was extremely grateful to Shuichi to come to her aid like that when she felt so helpless at the time. But on the other hand, she felt extremely guilty. Shuichi managed to prove her innocence despite her disbelief and still chose to defend her right now. And all she did was betray Shuichi when he decided to place his trust in her despite the high risks.

“Yeah! If anything, Monokuma’s the one responsible for this whole stupid killing game. If anyone should be mad at anyone, it’s that damn bear!” Kaito roared, supporting Shuichi’s argument.

It seemed Kokichi didn’t have anything else to say. Or rather, he decided not to say anything else. Either way, it gave Kaede a bit of piece of mind.

Pretty soon, Himiko let out a loud yawn.

“Can we please just wait until tomorrow? Arguing is already a pain...” Himiko complained, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes to stay awake.

It wasn’t just Himiko though, everyone was equally exhausted with everything that has happened. From doing an investigation, to going through with this trial, to witnessing the underground passage getting destroyed, it wouldn’t be surprising if everyone just decided to sleep an entire day.

Kaede was also glad that Himiko made the remark that she was tired. But it wasn’t just because she was tired, but also because she just wanted this day to be over. She didn’t want to think about this murder, this trial, all this guilt.

“I agree with Himiko. I think it is a good time to turn in for the night. I’m sure everyone is equally exhausted,” Kirumi stated coolly.

With that being said, Kirumi walked up to the elevator, pressing the button to allow the doors to open. She stepped aside, waiting for everyone to get in first. On cue, everyone slowly clustered into the elevator. Kaede boarded on to see Kaito, Maki and Shuichi be the last ones on before Kirumi. As soon as everyone boarded, Kirumi walked in and pressed the buttons. The doors to the elevator closed and Kaede could feel the elevator starting to climb up.

As the elevator was going at a slow pace skyward, Kaede couldn’t help risk a glance at Shuichi. He was looking straight forward, so he didn’t notice Kaede. She couldn’t help but attempt to try and get a reading on what Shuichi was feeling just by looking at his face alone. She could see clear exhaustion on his face like anyone else, but she couldn’t really tell what he was feeling emotionally. Honestly, she wanted to know whether he was hurt by Kaede’s betrayal, upset, relieved, or even angry enough to not trust her anymore.

Shuichi must have felt someone’s eyes on him because her turned to see where he felt that feeling. Kaede quickly whipped her head, suddenly feeling very stupid.

Before anything else could happen, the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened. Kaede couldn’t help but feel happy that the elevator ride ended before anything else could happen.

But she knew that she couldn’t let this end on such a note. Not without knowing how Shuichi felt and not without telling him her feelings.

Everyone began piling out of the elevator, one by one. Despite being one of the first ones out, Kaede paced herself slowly, to get behind everyone else. But not before tugging on Shuichi’s sleeve as a way to get him away from the others in a gentle way. Shuichi looked to see, and followed Kaede’s suit. Nobody seemed to notice and if they did, they didn’t seem to care. It is understandable, considering the arduous day. Eventually, everyone left the Shrine of Judgment, leaving just the pianist and the detective.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Shuichi... I... um...”

Kaede trailed off. What was she suppose to say? Well, Kaede knew what to say to be honest. What she feared the most was hearing Shuichi’s response. Honestly, she was more scared of how Shuichi felt than with anyone else. Like him, Shuichi was the very first person Kaede met and trusted. She didn’t want to lose that.

But she knew, if she didn’t say this, she’d regret it.

“I’m... really sorry...” she finally managed to say.

Kaede could see Shuichi’s eyes widen in her peripheral vision.

“Kaede, you don’t-”

Kaede quickly held up her hand to silence the detective.

“No, I do.”

She looked up, meeting the detective’s eyes under that hat of his.

“You decided to place to your trust in me, even though you knew it was such a big risk. And all I did was trample all over that...”

Kaede lowered her eyes, now staring at the ground.

“I used the information you told me to plot a murder... I decided to go through with a plan of my own rather than trust in yours...and I...”

Kaede hands were fidgeting with the edge of her skirt as she trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence. So, she decided to get the other thing out. But she was nervous to get the next thing she wanted to say out. Nervous was putting it gently. In truth, she was scared to say these next words. But she knew she had to say them. No matter what.

“...I understand if you don’t trust me anymore. I did lie to you... But please, don’t let my actions cause you to not trust anyone else. I know it doesn’t mean a lot coming from me but...”

Kaede thoughts were wandering around with different scenarios of how Shuichi would react. Would he just walk away? Say his piece of mind? The most likely scenario would be that Shuichi would just politely say that it was okay and just leave it at that and never talk to her as openly again. Honestly, just the idea of Shuichi just keeping his distance from her was probably the one thing she didn’t want.

Kaede was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She saw Shuichi looking back at her, trying to find the words to say. He took a deep breath.

“Kaede, I understand why you did what you did.”

Kaede felt his other hand land on the other unoccupied shoulder.

“While this tragedy is something that I can’t just erase from my mind, I still got the chance to know you. You’re a kind person who thinks of others before herself. You did try to murder, yes. But you did it to try and end this killing game. To save everyone.”

With those words, Shuichi pulled his hands off of Kaede’s shoulders. Kaede’s shoulders suddenly felt numb from the loss of contact. But she was awestruck from what Shuichi just told her. So, he wasn’t upset at her? He still trusted her?

As if to finally convince her, he gripped the brim of his hat and added,

“And as a detective, that’s another fact that I can’t ignore.”

Kaede only stared back Shuichi. He believed in her during the trial and he still continues to believe in her. Kaede could feel her eyes sting as she tried to hold back her tears. Because if she let them overflow, there’s no way she could get them to stop.

Kaede nodded, giving a smile. Not a forced one this time, but a genuine smile.

“Shuichi... thank you... Not just for believing in me, but for saving me too...” she finally managed to say, trying her best to hide the cracking in her voice.

That was also the one other thing she wanted to say. Not just the apologies, but also the gratitude. The gratitude to Shuichi for fighting for her.

Shuichi smiled.

“You’re welcome. I’m glad I was able to help you.”

He turned, ready to head back to the dorms.

“You ready to head back?”

Kaede could feel her shoulders start to sag. She was exhausted from everything that happened to day. The sound of getting a good night’s sleep was so alluring.

But there was one more thing she wanted to do.

“Um, Shuichi. Actually, you go on ahead. There’s something I want to do.” Kaede responded, trying not to sound too tired.

Shuichi looked, hoping to know what it was that she wanted to do. But he decided not to pry and nodded.

“Alright then. Good night, Kaede.”

With that, he headed out through the doors, slowly letting them close behind him. As the doors swung closed, Kaede looked up at the shrine’s glass roof. From there, she could see the stars shining down on her. She had so much on her mind. She closed her eyes. So much has happened. If anything, she believed that she was fated to die in that trial. She never thought she’d ride the elevator up out of that trial room, nor did she think she’d be standing in the Shrine of Judgment after this class trial, nor did she even think she could look up at the night sky again. Hell, she never expected to come out alive.

But here she was. Against all odds, she was here. _Alive_. With all of her classmates.

There was just one last thing she had to do. With the determination to do it, she walked through the shrine’s doors.

 

...

 

She slowly turned the doorknob and entered a room she was all too familiar with. Sitting in the center of her lab was a beautiful grand piano, still untouched. Ever since Monokuma announced the time limit motive, she never got the chance to play it. She thought she'd never get the chance to after her plan crossed her mind. That was another blessing she was grateful for.

She lifted the lid and brushed her fingers over the piano keys. They were shiny and reflected her fingers like a mirror. They felt cool and smooth under her touch.

She adjusted her skirt as she took a seat, staring at the beautiful piano keys.

Even though she was alive, there was one other person who was no longer with them anymore.

With that, she placed her fingers over the keys. And began playing one of her favorite classics : [Canon in D by Pachelbel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNsgHMklBW0).

If she had to describe this song, she would describe it as walking through a tall, grassy field with the wind gently blowing behind you and a sunset coloring the sky a calm orange. But another part of the image was that someone whom you hold dear was watching over you as you traveled across the field.

This piece was something that she felt Rantaro would have loved to have listened to.

_Rantaro..._

Kaede thought the words, not letting her fingers stop from playing.

_A lot has happened... And you are no longer with us anymore... Even though you did it of your own volition... I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault._

_I don’t know what your intentions were or what was going on in your mind. But I do believe that you wanted to stop the time limit. Or maybe I’m just being naive._

She chuckled at that last part.

_I do want to get out of here with everyone, just like you wanted. I just wish you were still alive with us, so we could all escape together and become friends. But, I’ll make sure not to let your death be in vain... I promise._

Kaede suddenly felt something warm touch her shoulder. Not a sudden touch but a gentle warm one. And that warmth began to spread throughout her entire shoulder. It was as if... someone was holding her shoulder.

“Ranta-”

Kaede immediately stopped playing, turning to see what that was. All she saw though was some chairs and shelves containing nothing but CDs of different piano music. It was nothing but empty space.

Kaede inhaled quietly. Was that Rantaro, or was she just hallucinating from the exhaustion? Canon in D was a song where she believed someone dear would always be watching over her. Although she wasn’t close to Rantaro, was he watching over her?

She already knew the answer as she turned back to face the piano and continue to finish her piece. Because if there was one thing she knew as an Ultimate Pianist, it’s that you never end a recital until the audience hears the end of the piece.

 

SURVIVING STUDENTS REMAINING: 15

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if this chapter was a little shorter than the previous ones... That's because it was only 2,900 while the others were over 3,000.  
> Also, I was listening to Pachebel's 'Canon in D' and I have to say, it was a really good piece to listen to while writing this chapter. I could see why Kaede would play this song for Rantaro. You guys should listen to it while reading the last part of this chapter! It's really calming, especially after an intense, plot twisting trial (lol).


	4. Chapter 4

The sound of the bell echoed through the speakers of the monitors, signaling the start of another day.

“Rise and Shine, Ursine!”

The four cubs’ voices echoed over room obnoxiously. A figure shifted, hoping that the obnoxious voices would just stop. Unfortunately, that prayer would never be answered.

“It is now 8 am!” Monosuke announced.

“As such night has officially ended. Hooray!” Monophanie cheered, putting her paws in the air. Like anyone really cared. Monosuke just rolled his eyes while Monotaro already had his head in the clouds.

“Wait. I thought this was the nighttime announcement?” Monotaro asked.

“I knew youse was forgetful, but did you forget to tell the time too?!” Monosuke chastised rudely.

“NOW-NOW. WE-MUST-GET-ALONG.” Monodam simply said.

“AHH! R-right! So, everyone do your best to get along!” Monophanie said before the monitor shut off.

Kaede groaned as she scratched the back of her head. Her forehead was resting on something hard. She pulled away, rubbing away the pressure off her head. She then realized what it was that caused her head to hurt. She saw the keys of the grand piano, with a little bit of drool on it. As Kaede found herself sitting up, she could feel her back aching from being hunched over all night. Hoping to rid herself of the aches, she stretched, feeling her bones click back right into place, much to her satisfaction.

She must have fallen asleep in her lab. She remembered after finishing Canon in D, she decided to play the other versions of Pachelbel’s Canon. She ended up playing Canon in B, in C, and a few other classics that eventually, she fell asleep on the piano. She chose to play more songs to help her feel better, but ended up playing way more than she expected. Playing all those pieces however did tire Kaede out enough to help her fall asleep, even in the weirdest position. The young pianist chuckled. She really was a piano freak.

Wiping away the drool off the keys, she stood up and brought her attention to the door. Kaede knew everyone was most likely gonna be meeting up in the dining hall. She didn’t really know what to think. Facing Shuichi was one thing, but facing everyone just seemed to jumble up all her nerves. But she knew that she couldn’t just ignore it forever.

With a newfound determination, she gripped the doorknob and exited her lab. Soon, the stale air of the hallway greeted her and she could see some morning light streaking through the window. She really was glad to be alive. But there was no way should could enjoy it until she managed to get across to everyone that she was sorry and that she’ll work hard to earn their trust back.

Realizing that thinking such thoughts would only bring her day down, she decided to focus on other things. Like... what kind of delicious food Kirumi would make! While taking the steps down to the first floor, she secretly hoped that Kirumi would make some of her favorite foods for breakfast. Her favorites were sunny side up eggs with some toast. However, Kaede knew that it was unfair to make the maid cook her favorite foods, especially when she could just make them herself. Not to mention, it was also unfair if everyone else couldn’t get their favorite foods as well. Either way, whatever Kirumi would cook up would be guaranteed to be delicious.

As she reached the final step of the stairway, she realized that she was gonna face her classmates soon. Kaede had to remind herself that even though she was nervous, she needed to be determined. After all, they were her friends, not total strangers.

“Kaede! There you are!”

Kaede was snapped out of her thoughts as she turned to see Kaito greet her. She could see another figure behind him but couldn’t really see due to them being right behind Kaito. Seeing only black, Kaede could only guess that it was Shuichi following Kaito.

“We were knocking at your door, but you didn’t answer. So, Shuichi assumed you were already at dining hall.” Kaito said while scratching the back of his head. Kaede was surprised. Even after the talk with Shuichi, she assumed that he needed space to think over everything that happened. She wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted the whole day to himself. But, he was instead eager to see her. So eager that he was knocking on her door just so they could walk together. Kaede mentally cursed herself for falling asleep on the piano.

“But since you’re here, we can walk together... Right, Shuichi?” He asked, turning to Shuichi, letting Kaede finally see the detective.

Kaede’s eyes widened as she saw him. He still looked the same as usual, from his demeanor to his outfit, except for the one thing that Kaede noticed immediately.

“Shuichi! Your hat!”

Shuichi couldn’t help but scratch the side of his cheek as Kaede mentioned his new look.

“Huh? What about his hat? He can wear a hat if he wants to-”

Kaito paused mid-sentence when he saw the now hatless boy.

“Dude! Your hat’s gone! I didn’t even notice!” Kaito exclaimed.

Kaede gave Kaito a peculiar look. Judging by their arrival, Kaito would’ve been with Shuichi the entire morning. So, it was surprising to see Kaito realize just now that Shuichi wa no longer wearing his hat. It was quite comical.

“How did you NOT notice?” Kaede asked sarcastically, still chuckling.

“Eh heh. It’s fine, Kaede. I just took off my hat. It’s not a big deal,” Shuichi finally said.

But Kaede knew more than anything that it was a _**big**_ deal. He wore that hat because he was scared to face the truth, ever since that one case. Even during her trial, Shuichi was still hesitant to reveal the truth, even though there was the serious consequence of everyone getting executed. Kaede remebered that moment in the classroom, he had opened up the most vulnerable part of himself to her. And Kaede remembered trying to encourage Shuichi that he had so much more in him and without him, she’d be so lost. Although, she was unsure if her words really reached him.

But now, to see him without his hat, could only mean that he was now alright with facing the truth, right? Kaede couldn’t help but feel proud of him for his now confident self.

“Don’t be silly, Shuichi! I think it’s a big change! You should be more proud of yourself!” Kaede asserted, giving him a determined smile. But she couldn’t help but let her cheeky side get to her as she decided to tease him a bit.

“Not to mention, you look way more handsome without your hat! The way we can see your eyes now... I’d say girls would flock all over the place to admire you!”

“HUH?!”

Shuichi’s cheeks flared up at Kaede’s over the top compliment. It was one thing to tell him he looked nice, but to be go overboard to say how attractive he was now, especially from the opposite sex, made him stutter. He instinctively reached for the brim of his hat to hide his embarrassed face. But, since there was no longer a hat on his head, Shuichi had no choice but to settle with having his hand cover one half of his face while slightly turning his head away to avoid eye contact with Kaede.

Kaede couldn’t help but smirk. Mission accomplished.

“Well, I don’t know about handsome, but I agree! Shuichi looks much more reliable now that we can see his eyes. He’s definitely gonna become a reliable man now!” Kaito complimented, patting Shuichi on his shoulder.

Despite how earnest Kaito was with Shuichi’s new look, it did not help his embarrassed state at all. If anything, his face only grew a brighter shade of red.

“How on earth can you guys say this kind of stuff so easily?” he muttered under his breath.

Kaito only laughed while Kaede smiled.

Even if she was over exaggerating, she really did think Shuichi looked more handsome without his hat. It seemed she was right when she predicted that he’d look better with his hat gone. She couldn’t help but see Shuichi as more of a man now.

_I guess I didn’t really over exaggerate at all._

Soon, Kaito clapped his hands together, as way to get himself going.

“Alright! Well, let’s head to the dining hall! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. am I right?” he asked, expecting an answer of ‘yeah’!

“Yeah!” Kaede said, fulfilling the astronaut’s expectation.

“Uh, right,” Shuichi stammered.

Kaito nodded, pleased to hear them both agree, even if Shuichi didn’t sound as confident.

With that, Kaito marched, leading the way with Kaede and Shuichi tagging behind. It was sort of comforting. Not just being with Shuichi, who had a calm aura about him, but also Kaito, who had this peppy, positive aura. It made her feel better about seeing her classmates.

As they rounded the corner, they started hearing voices coming from the other side of the double doors.

“-and now, there is no tunnel...”

“So that footage was true... We can’t try to escape through there anymore...”

“Gonta sorry... Gonta only brought bad news...”

“Don’t apologize, Gonta...”

Kaede could hear these voices. With her sensitive hearing, she could make out Gonta’s, Ryoma’s, and Tsumugi voices just now.

She couldn’t help but give the detective a worried glance. But her thoughts were interrupted when burst in with the doors swinging wide open.

“Hey guys! What’s up?” He greeted, as if he didn’t hear the conversation through the doors.

“Oh, good morning, Kaito,” Tsumugi greeted politely.

“We were just talking about what Gonta discovered...” Ryoma stated straightforwardly.

“It seems were really at a stagnate,” Keebo stated, looking down.

“We’re still talking the passage and that weird graffiti? I thought I said we shouldn’t worry about that stuff. Let’s just eat and think about what other options we have. I even brought Shuichi and Kaede,” the astronaut said, gesturing to the two.

Unlike Kaito, everyone immediately noticed Shuichi’s new look. Soon compliments were flooding with how good he looked, how they can see his eyes better, and that he should’ve taken his hat off sooner.

Shuichi blushed a little, but Kaede noticed that he wasn’t as bright red like before. Perhaps it was because of Kaito and her? Kirumi gestured the three of them to sit down and enjoy the meal she made for everyone. Kirumi managed to make both Western and Japanese cuisine for everyone. Kaede couldn’t help but wonder how Kirumi managed to make so many different foods before any of the other students came in.

Kaito and Shuichi already took their seats, already placing foods on their plates. Kaede remained standing.

“Everyone...”

She said it softly. But it was enough to grab everyone’s attention.

“I just... wanted to apologize... to all of you...” she started.

She gripped the straps of her backpack, feeling pain in her fingers. Shuichi looked like he was ready to stand up and defend her, but Kaede gave him a look, saying that it was okay and that she needed to do this. Shuichi’s posture relaxed from his previous stiffened posture, but still looked at her, reassuring her that he was here.

Kaede took a breath and continue.

“What I did was unforgivable. I murdered, to try and save everyone. But that’s no excuse for my actions. Not only did it take the life of an innocent friend... but I also put everyone of you in danger because of my actions.”

With those words, Kaede did a 90 degree bow.

“And I am so sorry!”

“Kaede!”

Kaede didn’t have to look up to see who it was. Shuichi was definitely surprised by Kaede’s actions. But Kaede wanted to show how sorry she was. And she was afraid to look at her classmates in the eyes.

“I know that it’s a lot to ask for your forgiveness. And I understand if you can’t forgive me today or ever... But I know if I don’t say this, I’ll regret it.”

Kaede lifted herself up, to see her classmates still looking at her the same way.

“I just hope that you’ll at least continue to trust in each other. And I hope that I can earn that trust back too...”

Kaede stood there awkwardly, waiting to hear what the others have to say. But as the silence dragged on, Kaede couldn’t help but grow more self conscious.

But pretty soon Keebo, unexpectedly, was to first to break the silence.

“Kaede, I understand how you feel. Although you did commit a crime, you tried to do it out of good intentions...” Keebo attempted to reassure.

“Yeah! Kaede did it to protect us! If not, we would’ve died from the time limit!” Tenko emphasized.

“But thanks to whale tits, that stupid tunnel is now nothing but a bunch of rocks,” Miu chastised.

Kaito’s voice boomed over, “Are you trying to say we should’ve executed Kaede than just have a tunnel gone?!”

Miu only recoiled away from Kaito volume and rage towards her.

“Besides, I’m sure there is another way to escape. Considering the circumstances of that tunnel, I wouldn’t be surprised if that proclaimed ‘escape route’ was nothing more than a red herring,” Kirumi added, trying to add logic to the conversation as a way to reassure Kaede and the others that all was not lost.

“Nyeh, I dunno... I just can’t bring myself to... well...” Himiko said, not even bothering to finish her sentence. Whether she didn’t want to or was just tired like usual, Kaede knew what she meant. It’s not just Himiko, but also a few others Kaede knew who couldn’t bring themselves to trust Kaede immediately.

“Well, like I said, I hope to earn back your trust again. But let’s continue to try and figure out a way out of this dumb killing game!” Kaede exclaimed, bearing a grin and balled fists.

Kirumi gestured Kaede to sit down. Not wanting to ignore it, Kaede gladly accepted the seat as she looked on to see all the foods Kirumi brought out. From scones to fruits to eggs to even rice, she has really out done herself.

“Mmmmm! Kirumi! Your food is amazing! Especially the rice balls! They’re packed so perfectly, yet they’re so soft and moist on the inside, and just tasty!” Tenko exclaimed as she gobbled down more of the maid’s foods.

“’Soft and moist on the inside’, huh? I bet I can think of another something that’s ‘soft and moist’ as well,” Miu snickered as she scarfed down some sausages and bacon.

“Kirumi! I request that you be my mom! I want to keep eating your delicious food forever!” Kokichi exclaimed as he chewed on his food which was piled with Japanese and Western food. He probably just wanted to eat anything Kirumi has made. Kirumi made no comment whatsoever. Kaede remembered spending time with Kirumi and knows that her pet peeve was being called a ‘mom,’ especially since she’s the same age as everyone. That’s probably why she paid no heed to Kokichi.

“The food does look delicious,” Keebo commented solemnly. Kaede noticed that Keebo wasn’t making any moves to eat breakfast.

“Keebo? Aren’t you going to eat?” She asked out of concern.

“I um, can’t actually eat food,” Keebo admitted, still looking downcast.

“Yeah, Kaede!” Kokichi asserted. This is not gonna end well.

“Robots like him probably eat only broken TV’s and such!”

“I DO NOT! THAT IS ROBOPHOBIC!” Keebo quickly and loudly scolded, getting looks from everybody. But pretty soon, everyone went back to eating breakfast, paying no mind to the heated debate between the robot and the supreme leader.

Kaede couldn’t help but grin. All the students were having a lighthearted time eating breakfast and chatting amongst themselves. It was as if nothing happened. Even though one of their classmates was gone and the underground passage was destroyed, everyone was trying their best. Guess they didn’t really need her to lighten the mood.

However, a part of her couldn’t help but wish Rantaro was here. It wasn’t a lie that she wanted to escape and be friends with everyone. That included Rantaro. If she could, she would go back and talk to Rantaro. Talk about things and become friends. Or ask him what was on his mind, maybe to ease him and prevent him from doing things by himself. No, if she could, she would stop herself from killing him. If she hadn’t rolled the shot, then Rantaro-

Kaede was jolted out of her thoughts when she felt someone poking at her left shoulder.

Kaede instinctively whipped her head to see Kaito.

“Hey Kaede! Did you hear me?” He asked, raising his eyebrow. “I asked if you could pass me some ketchup.”

Kaede stiffened, and apologized,

“Sorry Kaito! I guess my head was in the clouds!” She then reached for the bottle of ketchup and passed it over to Kaito. He thanked her and squirted it all over his omelet. Kaede couldn’t help but look over to see that he was trying to draw some ketchup art on his omelet, only to fail miserably as it became nothing more than a squiggly mess.

Kaede mentally slapped herself. She shouldn’t be focusing on past mistakes and regrets. What’s important was that she was here now. Alive with everyone. The best thing she could do was continue to support everyone and work together with them to escape.

And make sure that another killing doesn’t happen again.

“Rise and Shine, Ursine!”

Kaede groaned , shutting her eyes in grimace. She didn’t have to look to know who it was. It wasn’t long before they managed to get the attention of all their classmates.

“I-I see that everyone is getting a-along!” Monophanie stammered, sweating nervously.

“Y-yeah! Eating together, having a good ol’ time! I’d say they’re definitely getting along! Right, Monosuke,” Monotaro asked.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever,” He said, brushing it off, not bothering to notice Monodam’s glare.

“Argh! Why are you guys here!” Kaito groaned, annoyed that their presence ruined the good mood everyone was having.

The monokubs pulled out from their own conversation and turned their attention to the rest of the class.

“Ah, that’s right! We should tell them!”

Monotaro quickly announced first.

“We have rewards to give you guys for passing the first trial!”

With those words, the cubs showed off their said prizes.

“Here we have an ocarina, a hexogonal crank, an ancient passport, and a dragon gem!” Monosuke said as the cubs showed off the objects. However, Kaede couldn’t see these prizes as nothing more than random junk.

“Now then, we’ll leave it to youse to solve the mystery. It ain’t our problem so..."

The cubs then quickly left with a ‘so long, bear well,’ jingle. Probably as a way to escape the other students from questioning them about these ‘prizes.’

“They ran off before we could say anything...” Ryoma muttered.

“Um... Gonta no smart... but Gonta no see how these objects help us,” Gonta said, trying to figure out what their for.

“I don’t think being smart has anything to do with it,” Tsumugi tried to reassure.

“Don’t worry, Atua will be guiding us! So all will be fine,” Angie cheered. But Kaede had a feeling that Angie had no idea either.

“Well, just leave to Shuichi to solve this mystery! Right, bro?!” He asked, turning to Shuichi while giving him a pat on the shoulder. This caught him off guard.

“Huh?! Uh, well if that’s okay with everyone...” the detective trailed off.

“Alright then, that settles it! Today, we’re going to find out what these objects are for! Let’s go!” With that, Kaito was the first out of the dining hall, eager to find out where to use them. Soon, people like Gonta, Kirumi, and even Kokichi quickly followed the same suit.

Some students stayed in the dining hall to discuss possibilities, while some of the others left through the door leading to the outside deck, hoping maybe to find a clue outside.

Kaede was ready to head out of the dining hall to help with the search when Shuichi stopped her.

“Hey, Kaede?”

Kaede turns to see Shuichi, holding the objects in his arms.

“Do you want to accompany me? I could really use your help.”

_Huh?_

Kaede froze at Shuichi’s question. Shuichi wanted Kaede to investigate with him too?

“Is that okay?”

Shuichi nodded and said with a smile,

“Of course.”

Kaede smiled.

“Alright! I don’t know if I’ll be much help, but I’ll do my best to help you, Shuichi!”

 

...

 

The first place Shuichi decided to stop by at was the dragon statue. That statue was something that stuck out to him the most. It was the first place where they met Tsumugi and how she pointed out how peculiar it was.

Shuichi took a quick glance at Kaede. He couldn’t help but worry about the girl. He could tell that she had so much on her mind since yesterday. It was one of the reasons why he wanted to check up on her this morning. He remembered ringing her doorbell and feeling paranoia when Kaede didn’t answer the door. He was worried that maybe she locked herself in to be alone. But he remembered considering the other possibility that Kaede may have gone ahead. Which was the most likely possibility considering Kaede’s character.

But Shuichi grew especially worried when he saw Kaede not in the dining like he expected, but coming down from the second floor. Although Kaito may not have noticed it, he could tell Kaede was trying her best to not look tired. It became more apparent that something was bothering the pianist when she didn’t respond to Kaito request with the ketchup. If anything, it seemed she was in her own head. It was one of the reasons why he asked her to accompany him. He was just worried about her. Although, the main reason why he asked was because he just enjoyed her company in general. She didn’t need to know that, though.

In any case, there were more important things to worry about. Shuichi decided it’d be best to ask Kaede about her feelings. Simply just brushing it aside wouldn’t do anyone any good.

“Hey, Kaede?”

Kaede turned as they climbed up the stairs, already halfway up.

“Yeah?”

Shuichi scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out how to phrase his question.

“When I found out you weren’t in your room, I figured you were already at the dining hall. But I was surprised to see you come down from the second floor.”

Shuichi noticed Kaede stiffened as he said those words. Did he somehow hit a chord with Kaede? Was he on the right track with his deduction?

“So, I was wondering...”

At this point, Kaede’s eyes were swimming with nervousness. Should he just drop it and let it slide? It might be better. But if something was on Kaede’s mind, then he needed to find out.

“Did you... wake up early this morning and just rushed over to play piano?”

As he said those words, Kaede’s shoulders began to relax a bit more. But of course, he could still see Kaede was a bit nervous about his question.

“Heh, why do you ask?” Kaede said, beating around the bush.

“Well, I noticed that you had bed head. So, I assumed that you just jumped out of bed and rushed over to your lab as soon as you could.”

Shuichi began to have thoughts of his own. Was he pushing too much? Maybe she didn’t really want to talk about it. There was another possibility that it was nothing at all and he was just overreacting. In any case, Kaede was silent at his reasoning and that only made the detective second guess himself. How was she going to react? He predicted that the most likely scenario would be that she would brush it off, telling him he was just over thinking things.

However, what he wasn’t expecting was Kaede placing both her hands on her head, feeling around her hair. Then exclaiming,

“And you waited ‘til NOW to tell me?!”

_Wait, what?_

Shuichi was puzzled now. All he wanted to know was whether there was something bothering the pianist. Did he go too far? Shuichi couldn’t help but go through a worst case scenario where Kaede would yell at him to leave her alone and never talk to her.

Just as he was about to apologize for prying, Kaede added,

“Geez, Shuichi! If my hair looked weird, you should say something!... Actually, let that be a lesson to you, if someone asks you your opinion on something, be honest! Don’t let them wear something if it makes them look bad!” she lectured.

_...Oh!_

Kaede was talking about her bed head.

“I-I mean, uh... it’s not THAT noticeable! It’s just something I noticed... probably as a detective maybe, uh...” Shuichi was stammering all over his words. He could see that Kaede was not convinced considering she was giving him the same stern look. He needed to convince with something else.

“Uh well... what about Kaito? He was there and he didn’t seem to notice!” Shuichi quickly said, hoping that that little fact could convince her.

Unfortunately, it didn’t.

Kaede only sighed as she placed her hand over her forehead.

“Shuichi... Kaito didn’t even notice your hat was gone!” she said, emphasizing her point by gesturing to his now hatless head.

At this point Shuichi couldn’t help but chuckle at Kaede statement.

“You make a valid point, Kaede,” he admitted. “I’ll be sure to let you know earlier next time.”

Kaede, pleased to have made her point, then answered his question.

“But, yeah. I was playing some piano. I often do it because it just makes me happy.”

Shuichi, after hearing her reason, was pleased after finally getting an answer from her. Kaede looked like she was alright at the moment. It seemed he was blowing things out of proportion after that entire trial. But, he couldn’t help but feel something. Like there was something still egging him, even though for the most part, it seemed Kaede was alright. Shuichi recalled though that Kaede had a tendency to cover up her emotions to make sure no would worry about her. She was just that selfless.

As they could see the dragon statue at the distance, Shuichi decided to ease his worries and maybe even Kaede’s.

“Well, if there is ever something on your mind, just know that you can always talk to me.”

Kaede stared at him with wide eyes. But soon smiled and nodded.

“Thanks, Shuichi.”

And with that, they began to head over to the statue with everyone else.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as they approached the statue, Kokichi immediately spoke up.

“Geez what took you so long. I thought if this kept up, I would’ve died from boredom. LITERALLY!”

Kaede could only sigh as Kokichi began exaggerating and lying like usual. She didn’t really know how to feel about the supreme leader. On the one hand he wasn’t just annoying, he also knew how to get under everyone’s nerves, even if it got him in deep trouble. He would even use underhanded tactics just to get some amusement out of his classmates, even if they brought harm to everyone else. If there was one word Kaede had to use to describe Kokichi... it was unpredictable with a capital ‘U.’

But on the other hand, Kaede would be lying if she said she wasn’t curious about him. Sure he was trouble, but Kaede couldn’t help but wonder what was really going through his mind. Maybe he was lonely and was acting like a child to get attention. Or maybe he was just scared and was just trying to cover it up by acting confident. Either way, Kaede hoped that somehow, she could get through to him and maybe even help him.

Kokichi wasn’t the only one waiting around. Kaede saw Kiyo, Ryoma, Kirumi, and Gonta waiting near the statue. Maki, Tsumugi, and Miu were also there, but stood farther away in the hall leading to the other empty classrooms.

Shuichi approached the statue, examining the face specifically. Kaede could see that one of the dragon’s eyes had an empty socket, just like the last time they saw it.

“If anything, I can guess that we use the gem here,” Shuichi concluded.

That said, he pulled the gem from his pocket and placed it inside the dragon’s eye socket. As soon as was placed, the eyes of the dragon gave a red sheen as they shone brightly. On cue, the statue began to shake and everything seemed to be rumbling.

“Wha’?! Is this an earthquake?!” Miu squeaked.

On cue, Gonta instinctively got in front of Kokichi and Shuichi who were closer to the statue. Kaede watched as the Dragon statue crumbled and the wall fell apart, revealing a hallway.

“The wall is completely gone,” Shuichi said, looking past Gonta towards the newly revealed hallway.

“WHOA! THAT’S SO COOL!” Kokichi cheered as could see the brand new hallway, indicating some sort of new adventure to him.

“Alrighty then! CHAAAAAARRRRRRRGGE!” With that, Kokichi began charging into the said hallway. Gonta quickly chased after Kokichi, calling after him how dangerous it was.

Kaede turned to see if Shuichi was ready to investigate the new area when she saw him talking with Kirumi. Kirumi was telling Shuichi about how musty the air seemed to be, indicating that this hallway was here for a long time. If that was the case, how long had this school been here?

Shuichi seemed to be lost in thought with Kirumi’s words. It seemed he had another thing to worry about now. But the last thing Kaede wanted was for Shuichi to add more to his pile of things to worry about. He already showed signs that he was worried for her, after all. While she appreciated it, she didn’t know how Shuichi would react if he’d find out she’d been in her lab _all night._ But luckily, he had only deduced that she just got up early just to play piano. Regardless, her problems were her own to deal with, and he shouldn't have to worry about her.

Kaede decided it was time for the detective to get out of his own head.

“Shuichi!”

With that, she bopped him on the head.

“Ow!” he exclaimed, more from alarm than actual pain.

“C’mon, let’s try not to think so hard. Let’s focus on investigating this new area, okay?” she asked cheerfully, trying her best to not overwhelm the detective.

Shuichi seemed to notice Kaede’s eagerness and attempt to cheer him up.

“Alright.”

Kirumi made sure to remind them to exercise caution as they go through the hallway as the musty air could cause harm to them. Kaede decided to lead the way like usual with Shuichi tagging close behind. But they didn’t get too far as they noticed a door around the corner.

It was a fancy purple and gray door, adorned with black lace and pattern aesthetic.

Eagerly, Kaede pushed open the door to see where the fancy door lead to.

Inside, Kaede could see old but elegant styled furniture in the room along with a huge table with all sort of fancy dish ware and platter.

“Wow! This place is really fancy!” Kaede said taking it all in. This room made her lab look plain.

“If I had to guess, this seems to be another lab...” Shuichi theorized.

Kirumi and Kiyo soon stepped into the lab and the maid immediately recognized all the decor inside the room.

“This room is Victorian... These decorations adorned the British Empire at the peak of Queen Victoria’s reign...” Kirumi stated, pleased with the aesthetic. Kaede never thought she’d be learning about European history. But nevertheless, she enjoyed listening to that fun fact.

“This must be my lab,” Kirumi concluded.

Kaede took another look around the lab. This room definitely fit Kirumi.

“I didn’t know you were into Victorian, Kirumi. Then again, I guess being a maid, you would be, right?” Kaede said, trying to strike a conversation with her.

“Well, the Victorian Era could be described as a big part of history in Great Britain where great changes were made. They began great reforms in Politics and Diplomacy, such as the Reform Act which changed how the electoral system ran. Before, the people criticized their current system back then, claiming it was unfair. It also was a time of great developments in technology and economics,” Kirumi stated.

Kiyo didn’t miss the opportunity to add to this little history lesson.

“Because of queen Victoria, the Industrial Revolution boomed. Many people began to move to Great Britain for better opportunities. Eventually, the technology became so advanced and numerous that there were hardly any people who lived off the land anymore. That period in history proved to be a great change,” Kiyo informed.

Kaede did not expect to learn such an overwhelming amount about Britain’s history. Yet, with these two teaching it, it was fun to learn.

“What about the maids, Kirumi? Did they wear those French maid outfits?” she asked, eager to hear the answer from the Ultimate maid herself.

“Well, they often did wear black with a white apron over them. But they were not silky and did not usually wear puffy short sleeves like how today’s time represents it. They had strict protocol and had to wear their uniforms all buttoned up and wear long skirts that covered their ankles. Not to mention, the uniforms were often tight due to wanting to train them to maintain posture, ” Kirumi stated.

“Yes, modern society has made some changes as far as what history originally had. Today, most people view maids as obtaining a high status or just something to please the eyes,” Kiyo admitted.

“Really? ‘Cause to be honest, I would love to see you in a French maid outfit, Kirumi. I mean, seeing you with some cleavage and a short skirt, I think that’d fit you perfectly. You’d totally be a very sexy maid!” Kaede admitted without hesitation.

Kaede heard someone sputter from behind. She looked to see Shuichi, examining the white doors in Kirumi’s lab. His back was to her, so she couldn’t see his face. But she wouldn’t be surprised if his face was bright red right now.

“Shuichi, were you hoping to see Kirumi in a sexy French maid outfit, too?” Kaede asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Shuichi whipped his head at Kaede.

“What?! N-No! Of course not!” he quickly denied, waving his hands to show how much he was not interested. However, the bright shade of red on his face said otherwise.

“Really? ‘Cause honestly, your face says otherwise,” Kaede said, turning the tables onto him.

“No!” Shuichi reached for his hat to pull it over his face. But, to his profound regret, he grasped only the air. So he had to settle with covering his face to hide his embarrassment.

“Well, that’s good! Your mind shouldn’t get tainted by such things anyway.”

“It won't get tainted!” he quickly yelled through his hands, his words all muffled.

Kaede couldn’t help but laugh and say these next words.

“Again, are you saying you’ve seen dirtier?”

At this point, Shuichi groaned and gave up at arguing with Kaede. He turned back at the white doors, hoping that by continuing the investigation the topic would drop. He pulled open the doors to see nothing but cleaning supplies. It had washing machines, dryers, brooms, mops, vacuum cleaners, and many more things.

“These supplies will prove to be effective to help with my duties,” Kirumi observed, looking at all the high tech equipment with awe.

Kaede would not have this. She may be the Ultimate maid, but she is not everyone’s servant.

“Kirumi! You don’t have to do that! You’re our friend, not our servant. It would be unfair to make you do everyone’s work!”

“Do not worry. This is simply my duty as a maid and a part of a maid’s selfless devotion. I do not mind serving all of you. This makes me quite happy,” the maid replied.

Kaede didn’t know what to say. Kaede didn’t like the idea of Kirumi doing everything for everyone. It just seemed overwhelming to take care of fourteen other students. But if it made Kirumi happy to do this, it would be unfair to take that away from her.

“Well, if it becomes too overwhelming for you, know that you can say no. Or at the very least, feel free to ask me or the other for help. You’re our friend, Kirumi,” Kaede said, trying to compromise.

Kirumi simply curtsied at Kaede’s words.

“I will keep that in mind. But do not worry. I know how to handle certain situations as a maid. I will be fine,” She assured. At least Kirumi knew that she doesn’t have to do everything. Hopefully.

Kaede decided not to argue with the maid any further. Not that she could anyway as Shuichi looked like he was done investigating the area.

“You ready?”

Kaede nodded, waving good-bye to Kirumi and Kiyo as they exited the lab.

 

...

 

As Shuichi and Kaede passed through the hallway that was overlooking the first floor, Kaede could see Angie near the a door. As soon as she saw Shuichi, she immediately called out to him.

“Ya-hah! Shuichi! There you are! We’ve been expecting you!”

Expecting him? Does that mean Angie found something for Shuichi to investigate? Before Shuichi or Kaede could say or do anything, Angie bounded over to Shuichi, grabbed his arm and pulled him over towards whatever she had discovered. Kaede followed close behind, picking up her pace to keep up with the hyper artist.

Eventually, they found themselves before a large red and gold chest.

_A treasure chest?_

Kaede wasn’t expecting that. To be honest, she was a bit worried. Monokuma wasn’t one to hand out prizes so easily. She couldn’t help but feel like it may be a trap or another motive. But another part of her was really, REALLY curious as to what may be inside.

“What do you think? We’ve found a treasure chest! Why don’t you open it?” Angie asked, still with a grin on her face.

“Wait, me?!” Shuichi exclaimed.

“Why do you think he should open it, Angie?” Kaede asked, trying to defend Shuichi.

“Because the chest seems to be asking Shuichi too!” She simply answered.

 _In other words, she’s too scarred to open it herself..._ Kaede thought solemnly.

Shuichi could only sigh as he reluctantly agreed to open the chest. He cautiously approached the chest and stood before it. Kaede stood behind Shuichi, looking over his shoulder to see what was inside. Angie, on the other hand, standing a few feet away from them. Probably because she believed that the chest would explode or something. Gingerly, Shuichi pressed his hands on the lid of the chest and lifted it open.

Kaede let out a breath of relief as the chest triggered no traps anywhere around the vicinity. She looked to see Shuichi reach inside the chest and pull out something. Kaede stepped back a little to give the detective some space and see what was in his hands. From the looks of it, it looked like some sort of flashlight.

Shuichi was inspecting it carefully, rotating it in his hands, hoping to find some sort of clue.

“Why don’t you try turning it on?” Angie suggested, only for the detective to shake his head in response.

“We don’t know for certain if it’s safe or not. I think it’s bes-”

“Don’t worry! It’ll be alright! Look, even the flashlight is telling you to turn it on! ‘Shuichi! Turn me on! Please, turn me on! I’m begging you!’”

Kaede could see Shuichi’s pale face turn back into red as she continued to make this... innuendo. Shuichi, still didn’t make any motion that would indicate he would turn on the flashlight. This only made Angie continue.

“’Shuichi! Please, please turn me on! I can’t take it anymore!'” she continued bobbing her head side to side. Shuichi was still not making any movement to turn the flashlight on, but it definitely achieved making Shuichi’s face turn a brighter shade of red.

“C’mon Kaede! Tell him! Tell him that the flashlight is begging him to do it!” Angie encouraged.

“What? No! Angie, I don’t know if you know this, but you shouldn’t say stuff like that! It’ll give people the wrong idea!” she lectured, hoping that this would get Angie to stop.

“Well, why don’t you flip the switch Angie?” the detective challenged.

Kaede looked at Shuichi with surprise. It looked like he was learning to stand up for himself. Kaede was happy for him for taking these steps. Angie, on the other hand, stood there silently at the detective’s challenge. She stared at the flashlight before quickly pulling it out of his hands, which surprised the detective.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to inspect it and meet you halfway!” she cheered, raising both her hands with one grasping the flashlight.

_Meet halfway?_

With that, Angie ran off in the opposite direction, with the flashlight in hand.

“Angie wait!” Kaede called, but Angie was already out of sight, so she couldn’t have heard Kaede anymore.

“Is this really okay? Leaving Angie with the flashlight?” Kaede asked out of concern.

“I don’t think we need to worry too much. Angie seemed cautious enough to not open the chest, and not turn on the flashlight herself,” he reassured.

“Yeah, if anything, she was using you as a human meat shield.” Kaede quickly added, “You’ve gotten to be a little assertive. I liked how you challenged Angie. Although, I think you still have room for improvement,” Kaede complimented.

In response, Shuichi scratched the back of his head and muttered a ‘yeah.’

They both then headed to the door to their left. Looking at it, Kaede could see that the door was decorated with silhouettes of different types of bugs. This set off a lot of alarms for the pianist. She quickly let Shuichi take the lead as she hid behind Shuichi.

Shuichi could only sigh.

“I guess I’m now a bug shield, huh?”

With that, Shuichi opened the door, and Kaede looked over Shuichi’s shoulder. She could see some sort of grassy floor with a stump table and a couple of trees growing in the back. But what immediately got Kaede’s attention was all the bug containers filled all sorts of creatures and display cases filled with pinned up bugs. At least the bugs were contained and not flying around uncontrollably like she feared.

She soon saw the Ultimate Entomologist and quickly moved away from Shuichi so Gonta wouldn’t realize that she was afraid of bugs.

Gonta was, unsurprisingly, marveling at his little lab as he began looking at the bugs in their terrarium and each of the display cases housing each different species of insects.

“Gonta so happy! Now Gonta can be with insect friends again!” Gonta praised, not removing his eyes from his collection of bugs.

“I’m happy for you, Gonta,” Kaede replied. Even though she may not be a fan of bugs, she was happy that Gonta was happy.

“Yes! And look!” Gonta pointed at one of the containers, motioning the pianist to come closer. Kaede decided to head over and leave Shuichi to investigate the lab. As she saw what Gonta wanted her to see, she quickly regretted her actions.

“Look! Eggs! Looking at size and shape, Gonta believe they may be centipede eggs!” Gonta said, unable to contain his excitement.

“Yeah... That’s so cool,” Kaede replied, trying to sound cool and not terrified.

“Gonta think they hatch in two or three days! Kaede should come and watch!”

_Oh boy..._

Now what? It would be rude to the Entomologist to say that she didn’t want to see it or to say that she would be busy in the next three days or so. Before Kaede could say some sort of lame ass excuse, Shuichi approached the two.

“Kaede, I think I’m good investigating the area. Are you ready to move on?”

Kaede was extremely grateful for Shuichi’s timing. She didn’t know what she’d do if he wasn’t there.

“Uh, yeah! Let’s.”

Kaede turned to Gonta, apologizing for cutting their talk short. But, the gentleman brushed it off, saying he understands and that they can talk later. Soon, Kaede was back at Shuichi’s side, exiting the Ultimate Entomologist’s lab.

 

...

 

As the two climbed up the next flight of stairs they began to notice that this floor was a bit smaller and not as spacious as the 2nd floor.

“I wonder what we’ll find here? Maybe there will be a music room!” Kaede guessed.

“You already have your lab with the grand piano, don’t you?” Shuichi chuckled.

“Well a music room is different! It can house multiple different music instruments like the violin or flute,” she explained, as she already began thinking of a possibility of playing different instruments with all the other students.

As soon as they approached the open hall, Kaede could see a smaller hall leading to what looked like a gold and red door. She soon bounded over. Looking it over, she couldn’t really make out what this room is for just by looking at the door. There was no sign, no design, nothing.

“I wonder what this room is for,” she questioned, still scanning the door with her eyes.

“I think it might be another lab,” Shuichi theorized. Deciding to test his theory, he reached for the doorknob. But the door opened on its own and shut itself in a matter of seconds. Standing in between them now was Maki Harukawa. Shuichi couldn’t help but make a sound of surprise and Kaede couldn’t help but jump at Maki’s sudden appearance.

Maki just glared daggers at them.

“What do you two want?”

Shuichi, still shook from Maki’s sudden appearance, responded.

“Ah, Maki. I assume that this is your lab, then?”

Maki just crossed her arms, her eyes unwavering.

“Obviously,” she retorted, straightforwardly.

“Right... Would it be alright if Kaede and I could look inside your lab?”

“No.”

Kaede was surprised at Maki’s response. Sure Maki might have came off as cold, but she didn’t think she’d be the type to resist. In fact, Kaede thought Maki was the type who would cooperate in certain situations when the time came such as an investigation or something.

“Ah, I promise we won’t touch anything. We just want to look around,” Shuichi tried to reassure.

“I don’t care. My answer is still ‘no.’”

This was getting nowhere. It was important to investigate everything in this academy, and Maki was making that difficult.

“Maki, c’mon.”

Kaede got the attention of the Ultimate Child Caregiver.

“We just want to investigate and see what’s inside. Can’t we just take a little peek?” She asked with a super eager tone like a little kid.

“What are you, a child? You are not allowed inside my lab,” Maki rejected.

“But everyone else was okay with us looking in their lab.”

“Well I’m not everyone.”

“Are you worried about us seeing something embarrassing or personal? Don’t worry, Shuichi and I won’t pry, and if that still makes you uncomfortable, you can just hide anything inside.”

“I am. And I don’t want you to see my entire lab or anything in it. So go.”

“But-”

“What part of ‘no, you’re not allowed in my lab’ do you not understand?”

This was getting nowhere fast. It seems like Kaede couldn’t ask politely using the easy way. It looks like she’s gonna have to ask the hard way.

“Listen,” Kaede said, now losing the gentle polite tone and turning it into a more stern tone. “I know in a situation like this, it’s hard to trust other people. But that’s why we HAVE to work together!” Kaede preached, hoping that Maki would finally let them in.

However, her efforts bore no fruit.

“Hmph, I have no reason to trust you,” she simply stated. Those words immediately made Kaede dig her fingernails into her palms. It was her fault for making the other students doubt each other. If there was a way, she wished that she could go back in time and change things. But what's done is done and there was no way that she’d let a snide comment like that hinder their investigation.

“If you don’t trust me, that’s fine. But you can at least trust Shuichi,” Kaede reassured, trying her best to play it cool. The detective in turn was surprised to suddenly be brought up in this discussion

“He’s a detective and not to mention very trustworthy. You can trust him to look without causing a mess, or if your worried about him seeing something, he can keep a secret,” Kaede reassured.

Maki just groaned. She was getting really annoyed really fast from Kaede’s stubbornness.

“Let me reiterate one last time...”

And at this point, Maki’s bangs hung so close to her eyes that a shadow cast over them. Not only that, her sharp glare almost made her scarlet eyes grow. This felt a lot like a prey and predator situation where Maki was the predator and Shuichi and Kaede were the prey. Shuichi was pretty much a deer in the headlights while Kaede held her ground, but couldn’t help but feel a shiver come across her spine. It was almost as if the air around them froze and both were paralyzed.

“No one is allowed inside my lab. That includes you, Shuichi, and everyone else. So unless you have a death wish... you stay out of my lab. Got it?” she threatened, now staring daggers at Kaede alone.

Kaede froze. Was Maki... threatening her? Her and Shuichi? Just to try and enter her lab? Kaede could feel paranoia coursing through her body. Was there something serious that Maki wasn’t telling them? Or was Maki just being extremely cautious to the point of distancing herself with everyone? Now Kaede really wanted to know what was going on in her head.

“Maki-”

Before Kaede could even say anything, she felt hand on her shoulder. Not a firm one trying to force her to stop, but a rather gentle one. She turned to see Shuichi.

“Kaede, it’s okay. If Maki doesn’t want us looking in her lab then we won’t force her,” Shuichi tried to reassure, he emphasized, “And I’m sure not investigating one lab will hinder our entire investigation.”

Kaede was about to argue when she noticed his eyes and genuine they were. They were almost begging Kaede not to do anything rash or consequential. She already made a bunch of rash decisions, for better or for worse. Shuichi just wanted her to not take anymore risks for once. Kaede let her shoulders sag, letting them and her body relax from that entire tense moment with Maki. Shuichi pulled his arm away and let it hang at his side, relieved to know that Kaede wasn’t going to press any further.

“Hmph, you should try listening to other people more often,” Maki clipped.

Kaede couldn’t help but feel a pain in her chest. It was true. She did tend to listen to her own head and get people to try and follow her beliefs. But her downfall was that she’d get so into her own ideals that she hardly tries to consider the feelings of others.

Kaede felt a hand pressing on her back, guiding her out of the hall where Maki’s lab was.

“Let’s go...” Shuichi consoled, not removing his hand. Even with Shuichi guiding her out, she could still feel Maki's glare following her.

 

...

 

“Sigh... I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault that Maki doesn’t trust anyone anymore,” Kaede admitted to Shuichi as they began to approach the other door at the other end of the hallway.

“Don’t worry about it, Kaede. I’m sure Maki will eventually open up.”

When they finally stood in front of the door, the pair could easily see the door had a tennis racket design on it.

“If I had to guess, this would be the be the Ultimate Tennis Pro’s lab, right?” Kaede declared.

With the idea of wanting to find out if she was right with her guess, she quickly opened the door widely. Her eyes were focused on the huge tennis net on the tennis court. She could also see machines that fired tennis balls. This looked one of those rich people’s tennis courts.

“Wow, this lab is huge!” Kaede exclaimed, feeling proud that her hunch was right.

She then saw Ryoma and Miu in the lab, conducting their own investigation of Ultimate Tennis Pro’s lab.

“This must be your lab, right Ryoma?” Shuichi asked.

Ryoma only gave a quiet nod to Shuichi’s question, still gazing at the tennis court with a faraway look.

“I bet having such a huge court must make you really happy, huh Ryoma?” Kaede asked the former Ultimate.

“I don’t care,” he replied quickly.

Kaede tilted her head. Ryoma didn’t truly feel that way, did he? He is the Ultimate Tennis Pro. There’s no way he’d give up like that.

“Don’t say that Ryoma!” Kaede encouraged. “You’re the Ultimate Tennis Pro, right? There’s no way you’d give up on tennis that easily! After all look at me! I’m the Ultimate Pianist, otherwise known as a ‘piano freak.’”

All Ryoma did was pull down his hat, his eyes downcast.

“I WAS the Ultimate Tennis Pro. I gave up my talent after that one moment I killed.”

“You’re talking about the time you blew a hole in all those mafia member right? I bet you blew them pretty hard didn’t ya. I bet you enjoyed that, huh?” Miu interrupted, unable to stop herself from adding an innuendo into the conversation despite how serious the topic was.

“Miu, don’t be so damn insensitive!” Kaede scolded, but her voice was really loud as she said that to the inventor. She immediately recoiled in fear from Kaede’s scolding and raised voice. She should’ve remembered that Miu can be really meek when confronted, but that didn’t matter. If one person was going to be insensitive about another’s feelings, there was no way Kaede was going to ignore this.

“It’s fine,” the man simply said. “The moment I killed the mafia, I threw away everything. Which is why, even if we manage to escape, I still have nothing. All I have is my time in prison.”

Kaede didn’t know what to say, or if there was anything to say. Ryoma obviously gave up on life. Even if they escaped, Ryoma was guaranteed to go back into prison.

No, there was no way Kaede was going to stand for this.

“You still have a future, Ryoma,” Kaede declared.

“Me? Hmph,” he chuckled, not seeming to believe in Kaede.

“No it’s true! Sure you might go back to prison, but what about when you get out? In due time, you’ll be a free man. You can go back to playing tennis! And with us supporting you, we can help you get through those hard times of yours,” Kaede reassured with a determined smile and her fists balled in her signature pose.

Ryoma only stayed silent. Kaede couldn't tell if her words got through to Ryoma or if he just shrugged them off.

“I’ll say this. You’re optimistic Kaede, don’t lose that. I just wish I had half the optimism as you.” Ryoma replies.

She didn’t know what to say. But luckily, Shuichi was there.

“Ryoma, I know it might sound cliche, but Kaede is right. You shouldn’t give up on life that easily.”

All Ryoma did was look away, giving his lab a far away look. He didn’t bother to reply to Shuichi’s or Kaede’s comment. It seemed like Ryoma was done talking to them and pushing it would just be inconsiderate at this point.

“Uh, getting off topic, but is it okay if we look around your lab,” she asked, recalling that one confrontation with Maki in front of her lab.

Ryoma shrugged.

“Be my guest.”

Kaede began her little search in Ryoma’s lab. She thought by doing so would make up for the times she got distracted during the investigation. She can’t let Shuichi do everything after all. Of course, being in an open tennis court, there was nothing around that need a detailed search. However, the metal door that was sticking out in this stylistic court caught Kaede’s eyes. Kaede turned to look for Shuichi only to see him chatting with Ryoma along with Miu. She decided to leave Shuichi be with his classmates. Besides, Kaede thinks she can handle one room. She can just tell Shuichi what she found. Determined she gripped the doorknob and motioned it to turn. When she pushed it open, she was shocked at what she saw.

The room was revealed to be a shower room. Except for the fact it just screamed ‘prison.’ With the dirty tiles, the huge sink meant to be shared by other inmates, bathroom stalls that use jail doors, and then handcuffs and black and white striped inmate uniforms hanging on the wall, it was obviously meant to just hurt Ryoma. Kaede had to cover her mouth as nausea began rising through her throat. Monokuma had to be responsible for designing this shower room. Kaede was livid. Monokuma had gone too far. Ryoma was already suffering, and all he was doing was rubbing salt in Ryoma’s old wounds.

Kaede swears that she was going to make sure that Monokuma doesn’t get away with hurting her friends ever again. But in any case, Kaede had one task and that was to help investigate with Shuichi. So, she swallowed whatever rage she felt in her and remained calm as looked around the room. She made sure to look in every nook and cranny. She looked behind each of the bathroom stalls and even in the sink. But they bore no results. The only thing left to look was out of the window.

The Ultimate Pianist looked out of the window and was surprised by what she saw. Below she could see a pool along with some beach chairs. Minus the water looking low in the pool, it almost looked like a resort.

_Wow..._

Kaede and Shuichi obviously didn’t see this area while investigating the school when they first came here. So, was this a new area they were supposed to discover?

Kaede pulled her head back from the window and decided that there was nothing else to investigate. With that said, she decided to return to Shuichi. As she approached the door, she began to wonder how she was going to explain her results to Shuichi. What would she say? ‘Ryoma’s shower room was designed to look like a prison?’ Kaede sighed. He was going to find out eventually. Might as well be straightforward.

She turned the doorknob once again and was greeted by the large tennis court. It was quite a change from the prison themed shower room. In the distance, she could see Shuichi trying to get through with a conversation with Miu. But, she could see how exasperated he was. Who could blame him? Miu can be a bit overwhelming with her vulgar language and her perverted conversations. Kaede decided to take the heat off him.

“Hey, Shuichi! I looked in the shower room in Ryoma’s lab. From there I saw another place that looked like it is now accessible.”

Shuichi turned, happy that he had a reason not to continue discussing whatever he was forced to talk about with Miu.

“So you saw the shower room, huh?” Ryoma muttered.

Kaede could only look at Ryoma with a sorry look. It seemed Ryoma already knew what was inside there. A part of wished she and Shuichi could’ve gotten here sooner to look before Ryoma could and stop him. But what’s done was done.

“Did something happen?” Shuichi asked, concern lacing his voice.

“I’ll explain later, for now, we should try investigating some other places,” reasoned Kaede.

Shuichi nodded in agreement. After Kaede waved good-bye to Ryoma and Miu, the two exited the lab, ready to continue exploring the other parts of the school.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had to do some research on the Victorian Era so Kirumi and Kiyo could give the lesson. Although, it felt more like a crash course than a lecture... actually not even a crash course, lol.  
> Also, Kaede's inner pervy old man is back. I was kind of inspired of a 'sexy french maid' Kirumi from one of her beta designs. But personally, I like her current design. I like elegant and refined over sexy. Just my opinion though.


	6. Chapter 6

“I see...” Shuichi muttered in reply after Kaede told him the results of her investigation of Ryoma’s shower room. To think that Monokuma designed the shower room like that. It was like he made it for the Ultimate Prisoner rather than the Ultimate Tennis Pro. Monokuma really was going too far.

“Why did Monokuma feel like he had the need to do that? I just wish Ryoma didn’t have to see that,” Kaede murmured.

Shuichi could understand where Kaede was coming from. She's a very sympathetic person. She’d do anything to help anyone and encourage them. How much she cared for Shuichi himself was proof enough. If it hadn’t been for her, Shuichi wouldn’t have taken that step to change himself.

He had to give her the credit. He probably would still be the same boy hiding behind his hat, afraid to reveal the truth without her. But he decided to keep that for himself. If he said this out loud, she’d probably deny it, saying that he was the one who changed him, not her. Then it would just end up being a back and forth debate. Of course, the other big reason was because he was too shy to say those words to the pianist.

As they started heading down the stairs to the first floor, Kaede asked,

“So, is there any other place we should investigate?”

Shuichi covered his mouth in thought.

“There’s one other place I’d like to investigate before we go outside. Is that alright?” he inquired, making sure that the pianist was okay with that plan.

“Of course it’s alright! Lead the way Mr. Detective!” Kaede declared, letting Shuichi lead the way. There was one spot that stuck out to him. He decided that he needed to investigate the area. As they walked, Shuichi couldn’t help but remember the words of advice Ryoma told him.

 

...

 

“ _She’s got a fire in her.”_

_Shuichi turned before he joined Kaede in her search to realize that it was Ryoma who said those words._

“ _I can tell, her eyes shine with the same determination I once had...” he revealed._

_Ryoma looked on at Kaede as she looked around his lab._

“ _Kaede certainly is determined. I can’t begin to think how much she helped me...” Shuichi admitted to the Tennis Pro._

“ _Don’t discredit yourself kid. You’ve definitely changed.”_

_Shuichi scratched his cheek. Ryoma was probably referring to his hat now gone and how he seemed to be taking charge. However, that wasn’t what Ryoma was referring to._

“ _You really took a leap of faith in that last trial, huh?”_

_Shuichi was surprised at Ryoma’s comment._

“ _Instead of deciding to convict Kaede, you decided to take a risk and see if you could change the outcome... I have to say, I’m jealous of you kid,” Ryoma admitted._

_Shuichi’s eyes widened. The famous Tennis Pro admiring him? That’s a first. Shuichi didn’t even feel that proud of himself. He was just desperate to believe in Kaede and save her._

_But Shuichi couldn’t help but feel like Ryoma just opened up a portion of his past to him._

“ _Listen, keep an eye on her. You managed to protect her...” Ryoma trailed off, having his eyes downcast. It was brief for a moment, but Shuichi could’ve sworn he had seen regret in Ryoma’s eyes. Regardless, he continued his advice for Shuichi’s sake._

“ _She’s brave and smart, but can be rash. She appears strong but seems to have a lot bottled up.”_

_So it wasn’t just Shuichi. Kaede was trying hard to smile for everyone’s sake._

“ _She’s taken the role of a leader. But let her know that even leaders can be open. It doesn’t have to be with everyone, it can be just one person.”_

_Shuichi nodded, promising to keep Ryoma’s advice in mind. Ryoma nodded back, pleased to know that Shuichi has taken his advice._

_Before long, Miu, who happened to eavesdrop on the last sentence jumped in on the conversation. It goes without saying the conversation took a swift turn from the previous topic._

 

_..._

 

Shuichi risked a glance at the pianist behind him. She looked eager to find out where they were going. But was there something going on behind that eager smile of hers?

“Is something up, Shuichi?” she asked when she caught Shuichi staring.

Shuichi quickly whipped his head away, feeling embarrassed from staring at her.

“N-no... Sorry,” he stuttered.

There was no point in bringing it up right now. The best thing he can do is just remind her that she’ll always have his support. So, he focused on the current task. He pushed open the barred door leading into the hallway closest to the gym. The moment he entered the hallway, he saw Himiko waiting around the area. He could see her staring intently at the wall. It looked like Shuichi’s suspicions were proving to be true.

“Nyeh... there you are...” Himiko said both impatiently and lazily.

She pointed at the said wall. Both Shuichi and Kaede looked at where Himiko was pointing at and saw three indentations on the wall. Two of them had wooden passports inside, while the one in the middle was left hollow.

“My magic is reacting to this area. I think there is something suspicious here,” she muttered nonchalantly.

Shuichi saw the hollow indentation, immediately recognizing its shape.

“It’s just as I thought,” he murmured. He then fished out the ancient passport out of his pocket. Comparing it the actual prize and the hole, they seem to be a perfect match. Shuichi was about to place it inside the indent, but then froze.

“Is something wrong Shuichi?” Kaede asked.

Still facing the wall, Shuichi warned,

“Uh, you two might want to stand back.”

Considering how the entire wall crumbled when the gem was placed in the dragon statue’s eye, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the wall here happened to suddenly crumble again.

Kaede seemed to pick up on Shuichi’s cue, extending her arm to guide Himiko backwards. Himiko, confused about the whole warning let Kaede guide her a safe distance from the wall. When Shuichi felt like they were at a safe distance, he gingerly placed the ancient passport in the indent. Without hesitation, he joined Kaede and Himiko as he felt the earth rumble from his action. He turned in time to see the wall crumble into pieces, revealing another dark hallway within.

“Whoa!” Kaede yelled. Even if they witnessed it before, it was still surprising to see an entire wall suddenly crumble like that.

“Nyeh! The wall must have reacted to my magic!” Himiko exclaimed, yet she still looked more shaken by that sudden event than Kaede.

“Uh, actually, I’m pretty sure it was because of the anci-”

“It’s magic,” Himiko reiterated slowly and loudly.

Shuichi sighed. There was no point arguing with the magician. Next to Kaede, she was pretty stubborn. At least, when it came to talking about magic vs. tricks. Shuichi had no choice but to agree that Himiko’s ‘magic’ was the reason why the wall collapsed. After Himiko was pleased with Shuichi’s response, she moved towards the newly opened area. Kaede quickly followed after her, concerned with Himiko over what’s beyond the wall.

Shuichi followed close to Kaede, turning left at the new hallway. There, he saw a door decorated with Rune circles, symbols, and... strawberries. It didn’t take Shuichi long to deduce whose lab it was. Kaede pushed open the door and looking through it, he saw that his deduction was right. The room had everything a magician could need. A human-sized box with swords, a cage full of white doves, two huge water tanks, a collection of different kinds of coins and cards, and even a cauldron in the center of the room. Kaede was in the corner of the room, marveling at one of the sets that looked like it would be used to saw a person in half. She then moved to another section of the room to look at the cage filled with rabbits. You would’ve thought she was the Ultimate Magician instead.

“This place has everything! Himiko, can you actually do all these tricks?” Kaede asked.

“I told you! It’s magic! Not tricks!... But yeah, I know how to use all these things,” Himiko scolded in her monotone voice.

Kaede halfheartedly apologized for calling Himiko’s magic tricks. She then went back to examining the entire room. Shuichi followed suit as he began his search. He almost jumped when Kaede made a sound of surprise.

“Himiko! What is that?” she asked, pointing at the said item. Himiko dragged herself over with Shuichi walking behind. Shuichi saw that it was one of tricks where the one section of the box is pulled out to make it look like a person’s torso is pulled out of their entire body.

“That’s a time space capsule. It’s used to to teleport parts of your body to different areas. Only powerful mages can use this item,” Himiko instructed.

Kaede couldn’t help but give Himiko a doubtful look. But honestly, Shuichi couldn’t blame her. Himiko is a bit... eccentric in her own way. Shuichi decided to explain it the normal way.

“It’s called a zig zag box. A person is supposed to go inside the box and the middle section here...” Shuichi points to the middle section and pushes it so the middle portion is sticking out. “... Is supposed to separate from the entire unit, creating the illusion that the person has a portion of their body now off,” he explained.

“Whoa! That’s so cool!” Kaede complimented, marveling at the magician’s tool. Shuichi had to admit, seeing Kaede so eager and smiling so widely made her look like an innocent child who was excited at everything new to her.

It was... adorable.

_...Wait what?!_

“Kind of reminds of the time I played piano for a magician during his performance,” Kaede replied nostalgically, which helped the detective quickly forget about what he just thought with the topic now changed.

“That magic is difficult to master. It takes years of practice,” Himiko commented.

Shuichi saw Kaede’s eyes sparkle. He knew right then and there that Kaede suddenly had an idea. She turned to Himiko.

“Do you think you can show us?! I would love to see it in action!” Kaede beamed, grinning from ear to ear.

“Nyeh... setting it up is a pain...” Himiko complained.

“Then Shuichi and I will set it up for you, you just have to do the tri- magic.”

“Nyeh... performing the magic is also a pain...”

 _How lazy can you get?_ Shuichi pondered.

Kaede let out a frustrated sigh. It looks like no matter what kind of compromise she makes, Himiko is not in the mood to perform. It seemed that it’s up to Shuichi to help change the mood.

“In any case, let’s investigate the outside of the academy,” he suggested, hoping that Kaede would take him up on that offer. Thankfully she did.

“Alright,” Kaede agreed, balling her fists in determination, but was still disappointed that she couldn't see the trick she wanted. Shuichi nodded, glad that Kaede agreed. With that she marched out the Magician’s lab after saying farewell to Himiko, with Shuichi tagging along beside her.

 

...

 

Kaede stretched as soon as she was outside. Shuichi slowly inhaled the afternoon air. It was nice to be outside in the fresh air. Well technically outside, all things considered. If Shuichi was being honest, they were still trapped. But he wasn’t gonna let that get to him.

Kaede believed that one of the prizes that can be used outside might help them find an exit or even a clue to escape. As much as Shuichi wanted to believe in Kaede’s wishful thinking, realistically thinking, Monokuma wouldn’t have made it that easy.

As soon as, they turned right, they heard someone call them.

“Hey Kaede! Over here!”

Both turned to see that it was Tenko who was calling them, waving at them, with Keebo beside her. Beckoning them to come over, Kaede walked over with Shuichi.

Shuichi looked at the door before them. It was coated with vines. They looked very thick so it would be difficult to just pull them off, even Gonta might have difficulty pulling off the numerous, thick vines.

“There’s a peculiar monument here that I think the Ultimate Detective might need to look at,” Keebo addressed, pointing to the said stone monument. Shuichi squat down to get a better look. Brushing off the dirt and dust on it, Shuichi could make out some inscriptions. No, actually, they looked more like music notes.

“Anything interesting?” Kaede asked, leaning in to get a better look.

“It looks like there are music notes on the monument,” Shuichi muttered.

As soon as those words left Shuichi’s lips, Kaede stood up and pulled off her backpack. She understood Shuichi’s line of logic as she fished around in her backpack. Keebo and Tenko exchanged a look of confusion before she finally pulled out the ocarina.

“Leave this to me Shuichi!” She declared confidently.

Shuichi nodded. This was a task up to the musician. Shuichi stood up and moved away to give the pianist some space. She played a couple notes to figure out each of the sounds. But soon, she managed to figure it out and started to play the music before. For some reason, it sounded like one of those [kiddie nursery rhymes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtRG4iXIAG4), but he couldn’t help but get a morbid feeling as Kaede played the notes. Like for some reason, it sounded like something you'd play for the sake of cruel irony. But he decided to brush it off. There was no need to feel nausea. Right?

As soon as Kaede played the last note, everyone could feel the ground rumble. Shuichi feared that the door may explode just like with the previous times they used the prizes. But that didn’t seem to be the case. Instead, the vines suddenly browned, wilted, and then shriveled up, scattering to the ground like small snow trying to pile up.

The four students exchanged looks. Before long, Tenko decided she’d be the first to look as she swung the doors open. Inside, they could see a huge pool. It almost looked like a resort with the Olympic-like diving boards, beach chairs, and fancy looking pool.

Shuichi felt Kaede squeeze his shoulder as she shook it excitedly.

“This is it! This is the pool I was talking about!” she exclaimed. She then ran to the other side of the pool and looked up, pointing at something. Shuichi quickly made his way to her and looked to where she was pointing to. Sure enough, he could see the small window from up there.

“That’s the shower room to Ryoma’s lab. From there, I could see the pool!”

It was true. From Ryoma’s shower room, you could see the pool from up there.

“Wait a minute!”

The two turned to see that it was Tenko exclaiming.

“You mean to tell me that there’s a spot where the degenerate males can spy on us?!” Tenko started biting her thumbnail feverishly.

She then made eye contact with Shuichi.

“If you even THINK about using that to spy on precious Himiko or any of the other girls for that matter... I will personally run up there and throw you over my shoulder and out that said window! Got it?!” She threatened, pointing her finger at Shuichi.

Shuichi quickly held up his hands in defense.

“I-I got it, I got it!” he quickly said, hoping that this would be the end. The last thing he wanted was for Tenko to throw him over her shoulder and slam him into the ground as a warning of what she was capable of. Thankfully, Kaede decided to take the heat off of him.

“Y-You know Tenko, maybe we could use this pool to host some kind of party or something,” Kaede suggested, trying to change the topic.

Tenko went silent at the pianist’s suggestion. At first, Shuichi was worried Kaede might have said something she shouldn’t have. But then, Tenko face quickly changed from a neutral expression to a more excited one.

“You mean, like have a day where I relax by a pool side in the warm sun like a celebrity?!” she asked excitedly, grabbing Kaede by the shoulders.

“Uh yeah! Whatever you want,” Kaede responded.

Shuichi could literally see the sparkles in Tenko’s eyes.

“I always wanted to relax by a fancy pool like a celebrity! Drinking tropical fruit smoothies, soaking in the nice cool water, relaxing on the beach chairs under the warm sun with cute swimsuits-”

She paused mid sentence. Now, her excited look turned into a more frightened look. Before Kaede could eve ask what was wrong, Tenko turned to Shuichi who was only partially listening to the conversation.

“Shuichi! If you even THINK about spying on any of us girls through Ryoma’s lab window, I repeat, I will personally run up there and throw you over my shoulder out of that window! Are we clear?!” she threatened again.

And again, Shuichi threw his hands up in defense.

“I got it already!” He promised, sweating nervously at Tenko second threat, even though Shuichi didn’t do anything to make Tenko feel the need to threaten him again.

Pleased to have made her point- twice- Tenko went back to discussing her celebrity dream with Kaede. Shuichi decided to leave Tenko with Kaede and investigate the area himself with Keebo. Shuichi saw a sign that listed the rules. They were mostly morbid things, typical of Monokuma. However, the one about not swimming at night seemed important. He decided to make a mental note of that. Shuichi looked up to see another window above. From the looks of it, Shuichi deduced that it was the gym windows. Shuichi then saw Keebo leave the closet at the poolside. He reported that there were simply pool floaties and other pool necessities.

Pleased with the outcome, Shuichi decided to move on with the investigation. There was one other prize they had to use after all.

Shuichi went to find Kaede. Apparently, she was chatting with Keebo, something about sinking and using pool floats to help keep afloat. Kaede noticed Shuichi nearby waiting, so she quickly excused herself and made her way back to the detective.

“Alright, there’s just one other place I’ve been meaning to check,” Shuichi revealed.

 

...

 

“Yo! Shuichi! Kaede!”

Shuichi could see Kaito waving at them from a distance.

Shuichi rushed over to where Kaito was standing, which was before some big doors with a heavy wooden block sealing it shut.

“Think maybe one of those prizes could open this door?” Kaito asked, pointing to the door with his thumb.

Kaede caught on as she took off her backpack once more and pulled out the hexagonal crank. She then handed it to Shuichi to use.

“Maybe it could lead to some sort of exit?” Kaede asked hopefully.

“Maybe! I have a hunch that these doors will lead us to a huge clue!” Kaito exclaimed.

Shuichi couldn’t help but smile at the two’s optimism. He didn’t want to ruin the mood by saying that it may not be likely. So instead, he slipped the crank right into the groove. As soon as he did, the crank started moving by itself, lifting the wooden block out of the way. The crank eventually grinded to a halt, indicating that the area was now accessible.

“Alright! Let’s go!” after declaring that Kaito bolted through the doors, leaving Shuichi and Kaede behind.

“Ah wait! Kaito!” Shuichi called, but the doors already shut, cutting off Shuichi’s voice. Looking at Kaede with a concerned look, they both chased after Kaito.

When they pushed the double doors open they were greeted by two strange building that they never expected to see. One looked like one of those Hollywood buildings with spotlights and bright colors. The other had some white brick layered building with a blue and white neon light sign, with flashy pink spotlights shining all over it. These two building didn't look anywhere related to each other at all. In fact, both buildings contrasted with one being overly extravagant while the other just looked like some sort of cheap building trying to look attractive. Where on earth did they wander into? Shuichi gulped. Knowing Monokuma, there’s always something up.

“Where did Kaito go?” Kaede asked, looking between the buildings.

Shuichi looked between the two buildings. Most likely, Kaito went to visit the glamorous building. He wouldn’t go into the other plain-looking building, would he? But Shuichi couldn’t help but second guess himself. There is a possibility that maybe he went there just because of his curiosity and sense of adventure.

“I’m not sure...” He answered honestly. “To be honest, he could be in either building.”

Shuichi began to ponder on which place they should examine first. It’s not like Kaito was in any immediate danger, so they could probably take their time-

“Then how about we split up?” Kaede suddenly suggested.

Shuichi was surprised by Kaede’s sudden idea, mostly because he didn’t expect Kaede to suggest separating from each other. But Kaede explained her reasons.

“That way, we can find Kaito faster and cover more ground!”

Shuichi had to admit, it wasn’t a bad idea. But before he could even give his own opinion, Kaede started sprinting in the direction of the plain-looking building.

“I’ll search in this building, you look for Kaito in the other one,” She called over her shoulder.

He couldn’t help but sigh. Kaede was being her usual headstrong self and going with her idea again. At this point, Kaede was already at the entrance of the other building. He decided it was best not to fall behind with his own investigation. He walked over towards the other building.

When he entered, he was immediately greeted with blaring loud rock music. Shuichi needed to rub his ears in order stop the sudden ringing in his ears. He looked around to see a bar table with stools, and a couple exchange centers that had different prizes. This felt like being at one of those loud, fancy parties for rich people. He wondered how celebrities could stand being in places like these. Shuichi knew anything that if the overzealous furniture didn't get to him, the deafening music would.

Shuichi managed to hear Kaito’s voice from downstairs even with all the booming music. It was coming from downstairs. Shuichi slowly made his way down the stairs, gripping tightly to the golden, shiny railing. Now downstairs, he could see all different kinds of arcade machines. Was this place some sort of arcade then? But he dismissed that question when he saw Kaito in front of some kind of slot machine with piles of coins next to his seat.

“Kaito?”

Kaito then turned to the boy clad in black, showing an excited smile.

“Shuichi! Did you see that?!” With that, he gestured to the mountain of coins next to his seat.

“I hit jackpot on my first try! Can you believe it?!” he cheered, showing off his winnings.

Shuichi couldn’t help but smile at Kaito’s success.

“Yeah, that’s really lucky of you, Kaito,” Shuichi praised.

“Of course! I’m Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!”

Shuichi soon realized that this place was a casino. With the slot machines and a prize center as well as the glamorous vibe, it would make sense why this place would be a casino. However, Shuichi couldn’t help but ponder as to why there was a casino at an academy. After all, they were all under age. He wondered if this place really was originally meant for the Ultimate Students. It might be going under renovations according to Monokuma but still. It was just too surreal. Before Shuichi could ponder at any other possibilities, a flash of black and white suddenly appeared from behind the slot machines. Shuichi nearly tripped backwards at that sudden appearance while Kaito gripped his seat to keep from falling.

“Sorry to interrupt!” the monochrome bear said, clearly not sorry one bit.

“What the hell, man?!” Kaito roared angrily.

“Well, I was drawn by your lucky streak,” complimented Monokuma. Shuichi suddenly got a bad feeling. Of course, whenever Monokuma appeared, usually it was a bad indicator of something. But seeing as they were at a casino and Kaito just hit a jackpot...

“And I couldn’t help but think that maybe this loser may be able to get the rumored treasure...”

This got Kaito’s attention already.

“Treasure? Really?”

“Yup! But are you sure you want to go for it?” Monokuma taunted.

Yep. Shuichi knew where this was going. Kaito wasn’t the type of person to back down from a challenge.

“No way I’m gonna back out! Shuichi! Hand me a coin!” Kaito said.

“Wha-?! Uh, Kaito, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Shuichi tried to console.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Kaito didn’t want to take Shuichi’s advice to heart at all as the scooped some of his winnings himself and started inserting the coins himself. At this point Shuichi realized he had fallen hook, line, and sinker to Monokuma's scheme.

“Alright! Here we GO!!!”

_Oh boy..._

 

...

 

Kaito already lost about half his coins. And yet the machine didn’t even give him one coin.

“Argh! Dammit!...” he groaned as he fumbled with putting in the next coin.

Shuichi couldn’t help but look at Kaito with a look of pity while leaning against one of the machines. At this point, Kaito was at the point of no return. No matter what Shuichi would say, Kaito would say that he believed in his hunch as an Ultimate Astronaut. Nevertheless, Shuichi decided to try and persuade him one last time. So for the twelfth time, he said,

“Kaito, don’t you think that this is enough? You already lost half your coins. You can still exchange them for something else.”

“No way, Shuichi! A man never gives up halfway!” Kaito responded, not taking his eyes off the slots. He pulled the crank once again and watched the slots spin. As soon as Shuichi heard Kaito cursed loudly, Shuichi pinched the bridge of his nose while Monokuma, who was next to Kaito, snickered.

_This is definitely not gonna end well..._

 

...

 

Kaito hands were shaking as he was holding his last coin that he earned from his jackpot.

“This is... my last coin...” he muttered.

Shuichi sighed. It had only been about ten minutes and yet he already lost everything within that timespan. This was one those moment where Shuichi could say ‘I told you so.’ But there was no way he could do something that mean.

Taking a nice slow breath, Kaito pushed the coin into the slot.

“Okay...” he said calmly, placing his hand on the crank.

“There’s no way I can lose. I’m Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars! And my hunch is always right! This is where I'll make my comeback!”

With that, he thrust the crank down with confidence. Balling his fists, he watched as the slots spun. Shuichi, who was a little curious, decided to come over to get a closer look. The five slots were almost spinning at the speed of light. Kaito was watching them, fidgeting around to see the outcome. The slots then stopped one by one... all of them showing no matching rows.

Furious, Kaito punched the machine.

“GOD DAMMIT!” he yelled.

“Kaito, I think it’s best if you leave this place...” Shuichi tried to reassure, placing his hand on Kaito’s back. Monokuma however, was bellowing in the background, watching the astronaut pout.

“I should’ve listened to myself and stopped when I already had it all!” he regretted.

 _I’m pretty sure every gambler says that..._ Shuichi thought wistfully.

“That’s it! I’m turning over a new leaf! I’m never gambling ever again!” Kaito declared.

_I’m pretty sure every gambler says that too..._

Shuichi couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilty. Sure Kaito was the one who dug his own grave, but maybe he should’ve tried harder to convince him not to fall for Monokuma’s trap. Maybe Kaede would have done a better job.

_...Kaede!_

Shuichi nearly forgot about her. He was suppose to meet up with her once he was done investigating. He quickly excused himself, leaving Kaito behind to grieve on his own as he made his way to the exit.

As soon as he was outside, he saw Kaede outside where the paths branched, shuffling around. Shuichi made his way over to her. But as he made his way closer, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about Kaede. She seemed more stiff than her usual peppy self. Not to mention, she was facing the double doors leading back out to the courtyard. Knowing Kaede, he expected her to be facing the casino building, waiting for him.

“Kaede?”

Kaede jumped at Shuichi calling her name.

“Sh-Shuichi! Did you find Kaito?” Kaede asked with her back still to him, somewhat sounding desperate. It was like she was hoping that Shuichi found him in the casino instead of inside her designated building.

“Uh, yeah. He was in there,” he replied, deciding to leave out the gambling incident. He wondered what was going on in the pianist’s head as she let her shoulders relax.

“That’s a relief...” Kaede sighed. She must have been worried about Kaito since she couldn’t find him in there.

In any case, Shuichi decided to ask about the results of her investigation. He held her shoulder to help turn her to face him as she was only facing away from him.

“Anyway, did you find anything interesting on your-...”

Shuichi immediately stopped mid-sentence as he noticed tear streaks on her cheeks. They dried but they were still noticeable. Kaede didn’t look sad though. She just looked like she witnessed something disturbing or terrifying. It was almost like the time Kaede witnessed Tsumugi’s cospox during their first trial investigation. Kaede had the same traumatized look on her face right now. Either way, Shuichi immediately threw any other thoughts out the window and focused on the one important task, which was comforting Kaede.

“Are you okay?! What happened?” He asked.

Kaede shook her head.

“It’s nothing. Absolutely nothing,” She lied. Shuichi looked at the building. Did Kaede see something that she didn’t want to see in there?

“Did something happen in there?” he pointed out. He decided that it was best to see what happened in there for the sake of investigating and putting Kaede’s mind to ease. But he barely took even two steps before Kaede grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

“Nonononono!” Kaede said desperately. “Trust me, Shuichi! You do _**NOT**_ want to go in there! It’s fine! Really!”

Shuichi looked at Kaede. If anything, this only made him even more curious as to what really happened in there. What was exactly in there that made even Kaede, the strongest person he knew, upset?

Before he try and convince her to let him investigate inside, he saw a figure running towards them.

“Ya-hah! I finally found you, Shuichi!” Angie chirped waving her hand.

If that was an indicator for anything it would mean that Angie discovered something. Most likely, it was something about that weird flashlight. As soon as they heard Angie’s call, Kaede quickly moved her hands off of Shuichi’s arm. The artist however, already noticed.

“Oh! I’m sorry! Did I interrupt something?” she quirked, bobbing her head side to side.

Shuichi was puzzled, but Kaede quickly decided to change the topic.

“What do you need, Angie?” Kaede quickly asked. To the pianist’s relief, Angie answered her.

“Why, Atua wants everyone to gather at the gym. There’s something He wants to tell everyone!”

_At the gym? That seems important..._

With her signature ‘bye-onara,’ she skipped towards the casino, probably to check and see if anyone else is in there.

“I see! We should head over to the gym! Let’s go, Shuichi!” Kaede insisted, once again tugging on his arm towards the direction of the courtyard. Shuichi kind of wanted to argue, saying that he wanted to investigate the other building. But, Angie’s discovery takes priority. Not to mention if Kaede did not want him to look, he will not force himself to do something that would upset her. So with a nod, he let Kaede guide him to the gym, pondering as to what was going to happen in there.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Tenko's dialogue probably has to be my favorite part writing this chapter (Sorry Shuichi). Also, I think I need to write an apology letter to Kaede for making her enter inside the infamous 'Kumasutra.'


	7. Chapter 7

After leaving the casino area, Kaede prayed thanks to Angie’s god for the artist’s perfect arrival. There was no way in hell she’d be able to tell Shuichi that she just explored a love hotel. _**A. LOVE. HOTEL.**_ How embarrassing would that be? But moreover, why did that building exist in the first place? A casino is one thing, but a love hotel?! This was too far even for Monokuma. Seeing as they were in a killing game, Monokuma probably assumed that everyone would start throwing common sense out the window and do who knows what. But there was no way in hell she was gonna enter that place ever again.

But to make matters worse, if entering and realizing you were in a love hotel wasn't enough, learning that the Monokubs operated it was definitely enough to make you want to vomit. As soon as she entered, they gave an explanation of using the love hotel including a... high school level education of the basics and safety, the 'special events' scheduled inside featuring the Monokubs, and even each of the cubs' own stories of their proclaimed 'steamy love stories' that happened inside that very hotel. At that point, Kaede wanted to bleach both her ears AND her eyes from everything that happened in that god forsaken building.

Despite not wanting to talk about it, she debated if she really should not tell Shuichi. If she didn’t tell him, worst case scenario is that he’d explore it himself and learn about it as soon as he entered. He already proved that he was willing to explore it by himself earlier. If it hadn’t been for Angie, the detective would have entered that place and then it would have been too late to do anything. This kind of scenario reminded Kaede of the time when she and Shuichi were investigating Rantaro’s murder and were searching in the AV room. There, Kaede accidentally came across an adult movie case and got flustered. This inadvertently caused Shuichi to worry about her and accidentally look at it as well. Needless to say, it was an embarrassing moment for the both of them.

She couldn’t help but glance over at Shuichi. It was probably best to tell him than for him to find out in person. But now probably wasn’t the best time. Kaede could already see the barred doors that would lead them into the hallway that lead to the gym. It wouldn’t be long before they would reach their destination. Kaede rushed through the hallway as they reached the doors leading to the gym. With Shuichi tailing behind, Kaede pushed the doors open. Inside were a couple of the students. Almost everyone was gathered at the gym, with exception of Kaito, Angie, Maki, and Kokichi. Kaede could pick up a couple of the conversations with her sensitive ears.

One conversation was about how they were excited that their lab was open so they can show everyone their amazing bugs. Another one was gushing about having a pool party and inviting Himiko to possibly do a little magic. Another was talking about how the room was just full of props for magicians and not for mages. Either way, it seemed that everyone was okay. Kaede was relieved. Ever since Monokuma destroyed the tunnel, everyone seemed to be at a loss. It was nice to see them in better spirits.

It wasn’t long before the remainder of the students entered the gym. Angie entered last, proudly declaring that everyone was here.

“So, did you manage to figure out what that flashlight does, Angie?” Kaede asked, figuring she’d be the first to speak up.

“Uh-uh!” she simply replied, shaking her head no. “I couldn’t figure it out, so I asked someone else!”

_Someone else?_

At first, Kaede thought that Angie was referring to her god. But if that was the case then Angie would’ve just said that she already knew. So she pondered at who she could have possibly asked to find out such information. However, only one possible culprit came to mind. As if speaking aloud her thoughts, Shuichi said,

“Don’t tell me...”

On cue, the monochrome bear appeared out of nowhere per usual, surprising the other students.

“If you have a question, just ask Mono-Monokuma!” he chirped in a singy song voice.

Kaede groaned aloud while Shuichi squeezed his eyes shut while pinching the bridge of his nose. It just HAD to be Monokuma. Why couldn’t Angie just ask anybody else, like Miu?

“Tell us Monokuma, what is this flashlight for?” Angie asked.

“Why that is a Flashback Light!” Monokuma answered and explained, “If you use it, you can recover your lost memories.”

Kaede reflected on the headmaster’s words. A machine that can help recover their memories? In a form of a flashlight? No matter how she looked at it, it just reeks of fishiness.

“’Recover memories?’” Gonta repeated, skeptical of Monokuma’s words.

“I’ve traveled far and wide and yet, I have never encountered something like this before,” Kiyo informed.

“Well, it’s just some sort of major breakthrough with science or something. It’s suppose to trigger your Hippocampus and ganglia or something like that... ugh... I never thought explaining science would be a pain...” Monokuma complained and then announced,

“Well, whether you use it or not, it’s up to you. My work here is done!”

“You didn’t even do anything!” Kaito shouted, however, the bear already left as Kaito was in the middle of saying that. Now it was just the rest of the students remaining in the silent gym.

“So, what should we do?” Keebo asked, breaking the silence.

“Gonta no want to use weird light. Gonta think it is trick,” he responded.

“I refuse to use it! It just reeks of fishiness!” Tenko yelled.

“Miu, what do you think? You are the Ultimate Inventor,” Kaede asked, hoping to get some professional advice on this machine, even if it was Miu.

“You’re all a bunch of Ultimate Dumbasses! There’s no way there’s a machine that can cure amnesia!” she chastised. But then added, “But then again, these aren’t exactly normal circumstances.”

“In a place like this, common sense cannot be applied here,” Kiyo agreed.

“I can already sense an evil aura emanating from it...” Himiko muttered.

“I don’t like it... It might give some sort of weird side affect...” Kokichi complained, chattering his teeth.

“Then, maybe it would be best to destroy it or something?” Tsumugi suggested.

Kaede could hear multiple people voicing their opinions. A lot of them were against the idea of using the Flashback Light. Some were worried about it being a trap, some saying that it should be destroyed, others saying that it’ll bring some sort of misfortune on everyone. While Kaede was hesitant about using a strange machine that Monokuma prepared, was it really a good idea? Just ignoring it would probably bring more misfortune than finding out the truth.

Kirumi voiced her opinion, stating that if everyone was against the idea of using the Flashback Light, she will agree not to use it with everyone else. Just as she was about to ask Shuichi his opinion, Kaede interrupted.

“Hold on! While I agree that it may be a trap, I don’t think it’s a good idea to ignore it either,” she voiced. “I think we should at least use it-”

“Sorry Kaede! But murderers aren’t allowed to voice their opinions!” Kokichi interrupted as he giggled maliciously. “I mean, who knows what evil plots you have stored in that pretty little head of yours.”

Kaede had to bite her tongue to keep from yelling at Kokichi like a child to stop with this charade. Kaede regretted her actions more than anything. What more did Kokichi want from her? Did he want her to get on her knees and beg for forgiveness?

Shuichi came to Kaede’s defense, stepping in front of her.

“That’s enough, Kokichi. We’re aren’t here to play your mind games,” Shuichi shot, looking straight at Kokichi.

“Aww... you trying to ruin my fun, Shuichi? I wanted to play with your princess a bit more,” he snickered in response.

“Listen Kokichi. I know what I did was absolutely terrible. It doesn’t matter my reasons. What I did took an innocent person’s life! I know that! What else do you want me to say?! That you don’t want to trust me?! Well you don’t! I want to earn everyone’s trust back! And if that selfish wish of mine can’t come true, then I at least want everyone to work together... even if I can’t be with them.” At this point, Kaede could feel her eyes sting. It’s not like Kokichi will be satisfied until he’s heard everything from Kaede. So she might as well lay it out for him.

“All I can do is help everyone work together and stay safe... And I think that by leaving the Flashback Light alone, it could put us all in jeopardy. What if our lost memories can explain why we’re in this situation? If there’s a way that they can help us, even a little, then we can’t just ignore it! And if everyone is still skeptical, then you guys can just use it on me.”

Kaede hoped that somehow her words had reached to everyone else, even if they doubted her.

“I agree with Kaede 110%!” Kaito exclaimed. “If we want to make progress, we have to keep moving forward. We can’t just win by just running away! Life’s about taking risks! If you wanna win, you have to be reckless and take that first step!” he declared.

It seems Kaede wasn’t the only one who believed they should use the Flashback Light. Kaito went on with his speech that this way was the best way to fight back against Monokuma and that if no one wanted to, they can just leave.

“I’ll stay...” Shuichi voiced. “As a detective, I need to face the truth.” At those words, he faced Kaede. “And it’s just like what Kaito and Kaede said, if these ‘Flashback Lights’ really do contain our memories, then we can’t just ignore them...”

“Whelp! I guess that’s that. The rest of us will get going then!” Kokichi said as he started making his way towards the exit. However, he stopped when he realized he was the only one walking. “Huh? What’s wrong, everyone?”

“I’ll... stay... There’s no way I’m gonna let Kaede stay with these degenerate males after that speech! That will just upset me to no end!” Tenko yelled at the top of her lungs.

“Gonta stay too! Gonta believe gentlemen never run away.”

“Kehehe. I’ll remain here as well. I believe this will produce... interesting results.”

It wasn’t long before everyone started to agree to use the Flashback Light, even those who believe that the Flashback Light should be destroyed. Pretty soon, almost everyone agreed to use the mechanism. The only one who didn't agree to use the Flashback Light immediately was Kokichi. Kaede wondered how he'll react-

“Alright! Then I’ll stay as well!” Kokichi voiced with a wide smile.

“Weren’t you against the idea of using it in the first place?” Keebo questioned.

That was unexpected. But even so, now that was everyone in the room who agreed to use the Flashback Light. Kaede felt a rush of relief. It made her feel better that everyone was working together and were starting to take their first steps forward.

“Then I’m going to go ahead and turn it on!” Angie declared.

She held up the Flashback Light so everyone could see.

“Ca-lick!”

_**Click** _

 

_**...** _

 

At first, Kaede could only see white. A blinding white light. But her mind was suddenly flooded with images and words. Images and words that at first seemed foreign, but eventually found some sort of place in her brain amongst the internal chaos. They were flying into her brain so fast that she felt that her head would explode from all this overwhelming amount of information. Finally, she could see the spark in her eyes as everything began to make sense.

The room was quiet as everyone was processing what they just experienced.

“I... I remember now! In order to escape, I threw away my talent-” Shuichi exclaimed, but was interrupted by Miu.

“Y-you too?!”

It wasn’t just her though, everyone was panicking and talking over what they had just remembered.

Ultimate Hunt.

Kaede remembered. She was running away from Ultimate Hunt. A mysterious group that was targeting her and the other Ultimates. In order to finally escape them, Kaede abandoned her talent by erasing her memory. She remembered the feeling of paranoia of being discovered. And... did she fail? Was Ultimate Hunt behind this killing game?

“I just have one question,” Keebo stated, raising his index finger. “Who is Ultimate Hunt?”

“What you don’t know? That’s obvious! Ultimate Hunt is...” Kaito trailed off, now scratching his head as if trying to recall something about them. Kaede was wondering if something was wrong with Kaito. Surely he knew. After all Ultimate Hunt was...

_...Huh?_

Kaito exclaimed with sweat beading around his neck. “Huh?! I don’t remember?!”

It wasn’t just her. Everyone else couldn’t remember either. Kaede remembered that they were dangerous and the urgency of having to get away from them as much as possible. But she couldn’t remember why. Why was she trying to run away from them? What was their identity? Kaede tried hard to dig inside her mind to try and figure out those answers. Unfortunately, nothing came up. All she remembered was being chased and-

“I don’t want to... live...” Kaede muttered.

“Kaede?”

She could hear Shuichi’s voice, but then said,

“I...want to die... with everyone else...”

A specific image came into her mind. It was her wearing a strange looking helmet. Was this when she had her memories erased? In this memory Kaede could see herself muttering those same words. Why would she even say something like that? Kaede wanted to live and see her friends and family, that's why she threw away her entire identity, right?

“Kaede, hey! What’s wrong?” A faded out voice was calling out to her. She was brought back to reality when she felt someone shaking her shoulder. She realized it was Shuichi.

“Huh?” Kaede only replied.

“You okay? You were muttering something to yourself,” Kaito asked, who was standing nearby.

“I-I’m fine! Don’t worry!” She reassured.

_What was with that memory?_

Everyone didn't notice Kaede's mutterings as they were discussing within the chaos of what they can't remember. It didn’t seem like anyone else has some sort of memory like Kaede's. Was it just her then? Either way, she couldn’t shake off the paranoia of those words. Was this the doing of Ultimate Hunt too? What exactly did they do to her?

“Hmm, is this Killing Game the doing of Ultimate Hunt?” Ryoma pondered.

“What you mean?” The entomologist asked.

“Well, Ultimate Hunt was hunting for us. If we’re trapped in a place like this... does that mean they succeeded in capturing us?”

Kirumi thought carefully over Ryoma’s statement.

“It seems that losing him made a far bigger impact than we expected...”

“Him?” Maki asked.

Kaede didn’t need to hear the response to know who Kirumi was talking about. Rantaro already proved that he knew something about Ultimate Hunt. She remembered him asking everyone about it. But now, it was too late for everyone to ask him. He was now gone.

Kaede refused to let the guilt linger on. Balling her fists, she raised her voice.

“But at least we have something, right? We may not know about Ultimate Hunt, but at least its a start! Maybe with this, we can find a way to understand why we’re here and maybe even escape!”

“Perhaps Rantaro died so we can have this memory of Ultimate Hunt,” Keebo theorized.

“Nyah-ha-ha! I’m sure Atua is treating him well!”

Kaede would have been happy with this result if she hadn’t heard someone snoring nearby. Pursing her lips, she turned to see Kokichi, standing up while pretending to be asleep.

“Hey! Why are you sleeping?!” Keebo exclaimed.

Kokichi groaned as if he really was asleep, rubbing his eyes.

“All this mushy talk is making me sleepy.”

“Do you have a problem with working together, Kokichi?” Kaede challenged.

“Now that you mention it, yeah! But I’m not gonna say anything. If I say anything like ‘I don’t want to join your suicide squad,’ or ‘you’re just gonna get everyone killed,’ or ‘Monokuma will do something to destroy that ideal,’ Kaito will definitely slug me!” Kokichi laughed.

Kaito didn’t bother to hide his angry expression. He made a step towards the Supreme Leader.

“Are you trying to start something?!”

“Waah! I knew it!” Kokichi screamed, stepping away from Kaito. “He’s gonna slug me! I’m making a break for it!”

With that Kokichi made a mad dash to the gym doors.

“Hey! Get back here!” Kaito started charging after him.

“Kaito wait!” Kaede called out to him, but the astronaut was already long gone. There was no way he heard Kaede. All that answered her was silence. What was she going to do with Kokichi? She could only sigh.

“Well, a lot has happened...” Kirumi commented.

Kaede couldn’t help but nod. From searching around the school for hidden areas to using the Flashback Light to remembering only fragments of important memories, it would be a lie to say she wasn’t tired. She just wished that the Flashback Light brought more answers than it did questions. All it did was frustrate the girl.

“Why can’t we remember anything else?”

She was definitely at a slump.

“I think Monokuma did that on purpose,” Shuichi responded. “He probably knows we would want answers, but knowing him, he would want us to kill another student to get more answers.” With that, Shuichi looked down a little, not wanting to think of a possibility where one of their friends would murder another just so they can finally have the answer to their memory.

“Could that be another motive?” Tsumugi squeaked, her teeth chattering.

“No! I won’t let that happen! We shouldn’t try to take another life for a reason like that! We’ll find a way to remember some other way!” Kaede claimed. Just the thought of someone planning on killing frightened her. She didn’t want anyone to feel like they had to kill just because they felt like they had no other choice.

She didn’t want anyone to feel the same way she did that day.

“For now, let’s not worry about it for now. I’m sure everyone is exhausted. Why don’t we use this time to eat. Please tell me your favorite foods and beverages on the way.” Kirumi commanded as she started making her way out, possibly to the kitchen.

Pretty soon, the room was flooded with different voices yelling out their favorite foods and beverages. With so many voices overlapping one another, Kaede wondered how on earth Kirumi would manage to discern and remember each and everyone’s favorite meals. Not wanting to add any more stress to the maid, she decided to remain quiet. She was sure she’d enjoy anything the maid cooked anyway.

Kaede reflected back on today’s events. They managed to discover some new areas and they managed to retrieve a piece of their memories. If anything, they managed to make some sort of progress. Kaede knew that she should be happy at today’s accomplishments. So then, why can’t she shake away this eerie feeling that she had burning at the pit of her stomach?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope people noticed the 'sailor moon' meme between Kaito and Monokuma. I was debating whether to give Monokuma a cape or not in that scene to emphasize it. But I thought... Nah... I'm lame I know.


	8. Bonus Chapter 1: Dance Lesson

Kaede laid down on her bed after having lunch with everyone with the exception of Kaito, Kokichi and Maki. Maki wanted to hurry to her lab to prevent any intruders from entering during lunch, and Kokichi and Kaito weren't around for obvious reasons. Kirumi’s meal proved to be delicious as always. And yet, Kaede couldn’t exactly relax on her bed with a full stomach.

After that whole Flashback light fiasco, it seemed that today only brought more questions than answers. All these questions about who Ultimate Hunt was and why they were even running away from them frustrated her as there was no way they could obtain those answers.

Not only that, but when Kokichi spoke against Kaede about her past actions, the only ones who came to her aid were Shuichi and Kaito. Even if no one verbally agreed with anything Kokichi said, that doesn’t mean that mentally, they thought Kaede was innocent. From the looks of it, everyone seemed willing to understand her actions, but not forgive her. This just hurt the girl even more.

_Agh! Geez!_

Kaede gave herself some light slaps on her cheeks.

_It’s so unlike me to get in my own head!_

There was a thought that crossed her mind and that was to check on everyone to see how they were faring with all this. Kaede decided that since she had some free time, she would use that to check in on everyone else. She stepped out of her room and out of the building. She was greeted with greenery and some of the Exisals doing reconstruction. It would have been much more refreshing if it hadn’t been for the fact that they were inside a cage.

Kaede sighed. At least it was better than being trapped in a building. Out here she could run, see the sky change, or even do some other exercises outside.

Kaede looked around, hoping to find someone to talk to and was surprised to see Keebo sitting near the stairwell leading down to the lower part of the courtyard. He looked to be lost in thought. Kaede thought that it might be best to see if Keebo was alright.

“Keebo?” Kaede called.

But Keebo was still lost in thought.

Kaede, approached even closer to him, hoping to get his attention.

“Keebo!” she called again, only this time, in a louder voice.

And yet, that still didn’t get Keebo’s attention. This was starting to get on Kaede’s nerves now. So, she stood right behind where the robot was sitting, and to her disappointment, still did not notice her. Finally she grabbed the robot by the shoulder and gave him a nice shake.

“KEEBO!” she shouted.

“Uwah!” Keebo jumped up, not just from the sudden grabbing and shaking, but also from the fact the Kaede was leaning in. So her being close to Keebo’s ears while shouting his name definitely freaked out the poor robot.

“Kaede! Don’t scare me like that! I thought I was gonna have a heart attack!” Keebo exclaimed.

_Can robots even have a heart attack?_

Kaede thought that but decided not to question it as it may be seen as robophobic to Keebo’s eyes.

“Were you thinking of something robophobic just now?! Something like ‘robots can’t have heart attacks?!’”

Kaede froze. It seems the robot was starting to learn how to read the air a bit.

“What? No!” she lied.

Keebo slumped his shoulders and let out a sigh. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to raise my voice and accuse you out of the blue. I’m just distraught over everything that’s happened,” he admitted. “I’m more confused than ever, of course maybe it’s just me.”

Kaede shook her head. “Don’t be silly Keebo. I’m sure everyone’s on the same boat. We just need to be confident, am I right?”

Keebo only nodded, still remaining silent. Keebo was really down. It wasn’t just him, though. Kaede felt down about the whole thing with Ultimate Hunt. No, this won’t do. The last thing Kaede wants is for Keebo to be like this.

“Hey Keebo, Cheer up! Let’s do something to get our minds off this, okay?”

“Like what?”

Kaede thought for moment. She knew that if she wanted to feel better, piano was the answer for her. Maybe music could help Keebo feel better. After all, they say that music is the universal language.

“Well, I have some CDs of classical piano music we could listen to. I know a couple that could help calm the both of us down. Or I could play some music. I’ve practically memorized every piece!” Kaede suggested.

At Kaede’s suggestion, Keebo rested his chin on his fist, pondering his options. She couldn’t help but wonder if Keebo even wanted to listen to music. Kaede was probably being selfish at this point. Maybe all Keebo wanted was to talk to someone. Of course, Kaede wasn’t a person to give inspirational advice through words. She was better at putting them into piano format. This was no excuse however, for her to not ask what Keebo wanted to do rather than just throw her own suggestions. Just as Kaede was about to suggest something else, Keebo finally responded.

“Kaede, you happen to have a portable music player in your lab, right?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah?” She asked. Does this mean Keebo was okay and was about to take Kaede’s suggestion? At least, it didn’t seem like he was forcing himself to try and enjoy himself.

“Well, if you have free time... would it be alright for you to bring your music to the courtyard?” He asked hesitantly.

Kaede couldn’t help but wonder at the robot’s sudden request. If he wanted to listen to music, he could just come to Kaede’s lab. If he wanted her to bring some music outside, does that mean he’s planning something else? It didn’t look like he was going to say. So Kaede could decide whether to go along with this, or just say no.

_Should I use my free time to spend time with Keebo?_

“Sure, I don’t mind,” she replied with a smile.

A wide, eager grin appeared on Keebo’s face.

“Perfect! When you have time, come down to the courtyard, okay,” he instructed as he made his way down the stairs.

_Well, it looks like I have plans for today. I can’t forget._

 

...

 

Kaede returned to her room after chatting with a couple of the other students. They were a bit uneasy about the whole incident too. But after spending some time with them, they seemed a bit relieved.

_Oh yeah! I can’t forget about my meeting with Keebo!_

Kaede made her way out her dorm room to rush to her lab. She found herself running at a full sprint, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted Keebo to hear all these famous classics. Even if she wasn’t the one going to play it, at least Keebo would give listening to try. Not to mention, she was curious as to what Keebo was going to do. Maybe he wanted to play piano too. But if that were the case, he would have just come up to her lab to play, not try to learn by just listening. Eager to find out what the answer was, she grabbed her portable music player and a couple of CDs and sprinted out of her lab.

She kept going until she finally reached the top of the stairs that would lead down to the courtyard. What she expected was Keebo to be there, like he promised. But what she didn’t expect was for Kokichi and Kiyo to be there too. Was there some sort of party she was unaware of?

Keebo seemed to have noticed Kaede, because he waved at her and gestured her to come down. Taking it as a signal that it was okay to come down, Kaede made her way to the courtyard where everyone was. Not to keep them waiting anymore, she jumped over every other step. When she landed on the last step, Keebo was the first to greet her.

“Kaede! You’re here!”

“You’re late! That’s very rude, y’know!” Kokichi scolded childishly.

“Kokichi? What are you doing here? I thought you were running from Kaito or something?” Kaede asked, wondering if maybe she could try getting through him this time.

“Meh, I got bored. So, ditched him in the casino. I wonder how long it’ll take for him to realize I’m not there anymore,” he snickered.

_Geez... he’s so immature..._

“Alright, what about you, Kiyo?” Kaede asked, deciding to divert her attention to the anthropologist.

“Well, if you expect an explanation, I can tell you that it’s nothing big. I am just merely... curious as to what our Keebo is planning...” he simply responded, but Kaede swore she heard him cackling softly under his mask.

_And he’s so creepy..._

“Alright, did you bring what I asked Kaede?” he asked.

Kaede nodded, showing Keebo the CDs and the music player.

“Great!... uh... So Kaede, there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you...” Keebo said, suddenly fidgeting his fingers. She wondered what it was that was on Keebo’s mind right now.

“The reason I brought you here... with all your music and such was... uh...”

“Oh for crying out loud! If you’re going to confess your feelings for her, just do it!” Kokichi yelled from the background.

“I’M NOT!” Keebo yelled back angrily.

“Nee-hee-hee! Don’t you worry! I was just kidding! Robots don’t have feelings like us meatbags!” Kokichi mocked, showing off a wide grin as he placed his arms behind his head. His carefree expression after that robophobic insult only angered the robot.

“I do have feelings! Don’t be so robophobic!”

Kaede sighed. At this rate, this will only become an extended arguement about what Keebo is capable of doing. To be honest, even as a robot, he was like a normal person and moreover, a kind friend. The only difference was his metallic appearance. But if she said that, she’d only get involved with this pointless argument.

“ANY-WAY! Keebo, what did you need, exactly?” Kaede said, deciding it was time to drop this entire shenanigan Keebo and Kokichi ended up getting involved in.

“Oh! Well, I was wondering if... you could teach how to dance... please!” Keebo exclaimed loudly on that last part, as if desperate. Kaede only looked at Keebo in puzzlement. Keebo noticed the pianist’s confused expression at this request, because he explained,

“I’ve been told that when I dance, I tend to... look stiff and... my movements seem sudden...” Keebo explained, trying to find the proper words.

“OH! So you dance like a robot!” Kokichi blurted out.

Keebo face turned into a stressed look. Keebo was trying his best to phrase it in a way that didn’t seem like a robot problem. And yet, Kokichi decided to completely ruin it. Keebo only curled his hand into a fist to try and not senselessly yell at him.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t mean that in a robophobic way and say... yes... I do dance like a robot...” he admitted.

Kaede couldn’t help but picture Keebo doing the robot. She had to admit, being a robot, it would be no surprise if he knew how to dance like that. A part of her now wanted to see him dance the robot. But of course if she asked him that, there’s is no doubt in mind he would take that as a robophobic request. So she decided to accept his request instead.

“Sure, I don’t mind. I’m not a professional, but I can teach you the basics of slow dancing.”

“Great! Then let’s start!” Keebo took the music player from Kaede’s hands and placed a random CD inside. Kaede recognized the piece as [Chopin’s Nocturne in B flat minor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtIW2r1EalM). A gentle song that she would describe as wondering in the night with grass covered in dew and fog tracing the ground. But eventually, daybreak comes, and you just dance. A perfect song for a slow dance she thought.

“Let’s start with the basics. Keebo come here for a moment,” Kaede instructed. Keebo did just what Kaede said as she approached and was now standing before her.

“Alright, so take your left hand and hold my right...” Kaede explained as Keebo did that easily, holding her hand at shoulder level.

“Now, place your other hand on my waist.”

“Wait WHAT?!” Keebo exclaimed, his grip suddenly tightening around her hand. It was as if, if he didn’t hold tight to her hand, he would’ve pulled away.

“C’mon Keebo! This is the basic stuff! Everyone does it, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Kaede tried to reassure.

“Y-yeah... but... I’m not used to such... close contact...” Keebo admitted as he hid his face behind his large collar guard. Kaede looked closely and saw that Keebo’s face was turning a bright shade of red. She didn’t know he was capable of blushing.

“Hey, there’s no rush. We can do this one step at a time,” Kaede reassured.

“If you prefer, Keebo, I know many other traditional dances that I would be happy to teach you,” Kiyo offered, looking oddly at the robot.

“Or, you could teach me how to dance the robot!” Kokichi grinned.

“Uh, I’m good. I want to continue learning from Kaede,” Keebo affirmed, trying to ignore Kokichi’s remark. He then turned back to Kaede, but still made no move to place his hand on Kaede’s waist. In fact, his face went back to turning a bright shade of red.

“Okay, uh... how about I go first then,” Kaede offered.

Before Keebo could ask what she meant, she placed her left hand on his shoulder.

“UWAH!” he yelled, surpirsed by the sudden contact, his face showing how tense he was.

“Keebo, are you going to be like this?” Kaede asked, both out of concern and out of annoyance.

“Uh... well... if this is how dancing is always like... I... guess I should try and get used to it...” He admitted. He slowly and hesitantly placed his shaky hand onto Kaede’s waist, but kept his eyes shut tight.

“That’s the spirit, Keebo!” Kaede complimented, not being embarrassed in the slightest. Keebo on the other hand was frozen stiff with embarrassment. She decided it was time to teach Keebo the footwork of doing the slow dance. She chose to teach him the simple classic ‘dance in a box’ technique since it was simple and often used because anyone could dance to it.

“Alright, so when I step back with my right, you step forward with your left, okay?”

“Right... I mean left!... I mean... got it!” he stammered, doing exactly as the pianist said, but still hid his blushing face behind his collar guard.

They continued following the basic steps while staying in their little square.

Kokichi whistled, “Wow, you two look like a power couple! But don’t expect it to work out Kaede! Robots can’t love!”

“Of- Of course I can love! I love all kinds of things, like warm sweaters, and pop idols. And it’s not like that with Kaede!” Keebo scolded.

“Don’t worry about it Keebo. At this rate, any girl who dances with you will be impressed by your moves!” Kaede praised.

Kokichi snickered. What idea did he have planted in his head now?

“Of course if you REALLY want to impress everyone, you should learn the moves to the horizontal tango!” Kokichi remarked at Keebo, moving his hips forward and back as he said the name of the dance. Now it was Kaede’s turn to have a bright red face.

“Is that even a real thing?” Keebo asked, questioning Kokichi’s validity.

Before Kaede could even say anything to change the topic or explain that it is something he undeniably should not know, Kiyo responded.

“Kokichi, this time surprisingly, is telling the truth. I ran into a few villages who view this as a... practiced tradition.” Kiyo informed. Kaede made a mental note to ask Kiyo where these places are so she can make sure to _**never**_ run into those places by accident.

“In that case, Kaede! Could you teach me how to do this horizontal tango? If a lot of people already know how to dance to it, then I think it is imperative that I should learn it! And I’d love to do it with you, it sounds like it would be fun!” Keebo declared innocently. At this point, Kokichi doubled over his laughter and collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach. Kiyo simply gazed at the two dancers, curious to see how Kaede would respond to the robot’s sudden request who was unaware of what he was possibly getting into.

“Uh... yeah... Sorry Keebo... I don’t think that’s a good idea...” Kaede answered, looking away with her face bright red.

“Huh? Why not?” Keebo asked out of curiosity. Kokichi was still laughing in the background and Kaede swore she saw Kiyo fidgeting as if he was chuckling under his mask. All she could do was glare at the two of them.

 _Well I’m glad THEY think it’s funny..._ she thought sarcastically. She turned back to Keebo who was still looking at her in hopes of getting some sort of explanation.

“It’s... let’s just say it’s something you won't learn until you’re older. Like adult age,” Kaede responded, trying to keep the conversation in a kid-safe territory. She didn’t want to be the one to teach Keebo about the birds and the bees. She’ll just leave that to Keebo’s professor. Even if he actually knew the concept of... that... there was no way she was brave enough to ask such a question to the robot.

“Ah, I see...” That reason looked like it was enough to convince Keebo. “Although I do not have a biological age, my mental age is somewhat at the age of an average teenager. Not that I’m insinuating that I’m lacking intelligence. I’m very smart compared to others!” Keebo revealed.

_So are you saying we’re dumb since we’re teenagers?_

“Yeah... I’m just gonna go ahead and ignore that insult...” Kaede said as she stepped left with Keebo.

“What insult?” he asked.

“Exactly.”

 

...

 

Kaede continued teaching Keebo the basics steps of slow dancing. He managed to remember the steps so thoroughly that he mangaged to move without Kaede’s instructions. In fact, Keebo eventually got used to Kaede’s close contact. She really was happy to help Keebo. Even if it was something so simple, he was still grateful to her. Kiyo and Kokichi continued to observe the two dance until the end. Kokichi was begging Keebo to teach him how to robot dance, despite how robophobic he sounded. After trying to reject him over 20 times, Kokichi had to settle with asking Kaede to teach him how to slow dance, even though it was apparent that he already knew. Eventually, it was time to part ways. After cleaning up, Keebo thanked Kaede for her help and everyone went their seperate ways.

Now Kaede was back in her room after putting her CDs and music player back in her lab.

_I still have some more time... what should I do?_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to include special bonus scenes in this story just like the canon game. Ever since I heard that Keebo can only dance the robot, I've had so many head canons. This one in particular. And honestly, Kaede and Keebo just seem like they'd be the best of friends. Also Kokichi teasing Kaede by talking about the horizontal tango...lmao. I think I owe Kaede a longer apology letter.
> 
> Anyway, you can expect some bonus scenes between the story during the free time events. If you guys have any suggestions, feel free to tell me. I'm open to ideas!
> 
> P.S. Saimatsu is coming V-E-R-Y soon!


	9. Chapter 9

Kaede spent the rest of her time with some of the other students. Mostly with Shuichi and Kaito considering they were the only known people who still openly believed in her. Kaito talked about his story of how he ended up becoming an Ultimate Astronaut which turned out to be a long winded story where Kaito talked about sailing the seas to 'conquer the seas,' and still had more to tell. While with Shuichi, Kaede managed to find out his favorite case that he took on, which turned out to be one where a 11 year old went missing, so he went ahead to solve the case and find him. All in all, Kaede had a good time spending time with them. It helped get the stress off of her. She only hoped that she helped everyone else somehow.

Lying on her bed, she began to think about the circumstances of their situation. So far from what they learned, all of the students were being hunted by Ultimate Hunt. And all the students came to the same conclusion to throw away their talents along with their memories to escape them. However, what the identity of Ultimate Hunt and what their motives were were still unknown. Not to mention, they still don’t know who is responsible for throwing everyone in the killing game. The most likely conclusion was that it was Ultimate Hunt who done this, but there was no concrete evidence.

_I wonder if Rantaro knew..._

Kaede knows she already had this thought so many times already. But she couldn’t help it. Rantaro was the only one who showed any indication that he knew what Ultimate Hunt was and possibly why everyone was trapped in here. And now he was gone. And it was all her fault.

Kaede let out a sigh. She wanted nothing more to help everyone more than anything. But all she could do was preach about working together and keep anything bad from happening. She felt so helpless and like a hypocrite. Rantaro would’ve been way more helpful to everyone than her. At this, Kaede felt something wet slide down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away. She shouldn’t be like this. Kaede may have indirectly played a role in Rantaro’s suicide, but it doesn’t change the fact Rantaro was the one who took his life in the end, not her. Not to mention, Rantaro may have taken his life to save the rest of the students from the time limit. Although Kaede would never know for sure, she wanted to believe that he wanted everyone to live, including Kaede-

_I don’t... want to live..._

_I want to die... with everyone else..._

“Ggh!”

She pressed her hands against the sides of her head to suppress the pain pounding in her head as well as rub away the ringing in her ears. She remembered that she had this memory shortly after she was exposed to the Flashback light. Why did she have such a memory? She wanted nothing more than to survive with everyone. She wanted to escape this killing game with everyone and be reunited with her family and friends. What did Ultimate Hunt do to her to make her have such thoughts. Honestly, the possibilities frightened her.

Kaede was brought out of her own head when she heard a bell ringing from the monitor speakers. She turned to see the screen come to life. On the display she saw that this time it was just Monosuke, Monotaro, and Monophanie. Monodam wasn’t anywhere to be seen, not that Kaede cared anyway.

“Rise and Shine, Ursine!”

“It is now 10pm! As such, it is officially nighttime!” Monophanie announced.

“Y’know... I was wondering, why do we say ‘Rise and Shine, Ursine’ when it’s nighttime?” Monotaro asked as a question mark display appeared overhead. But looking closely, Kaede could see that it was just a sign being held up by someone. So that’s where Monodam wass.

“Why ya questioning our catchphrase?! It’s how things are, okay?! Stop asking such dumbass questions!” Monosuke clipped as another sign appeared. This time, it had three red exclamation points on it. In between the signs, the green bear’s head appeared from behind the couch.

“ARE-YOU-GETTING-ALONG?” Monodam asked, possibly asking out of curiosity, but came out more threatening.

“Eeeeeeeeeee! Yes we are!” Monophanie quickly answered, her voice going way higher than usual.

“ARE-YOU-SURE? I-AM-NOT-CONVINCED. I-CAN-HELP-US-GET-ALONG.”

“Agh geez... now look what you did Monotaro! Looks like it’ll an all nighter,”Monosuke complained.

“Huh? It’s my fault?”

At this point, the brothers were engaging in their own back and forth. Monophanie had no choice but to speak over, claiming that the announcement had to be cut short due to technical difficulties. She then signed off with her ‘Bedtime Ursine’ without her brothers as the screen turned black.

Kaede let her head hit against the pillow. She was ready to fall asleep and face another day, no matter how bad it may be. She needed to be there for everyone to prevent anything bad from happening. Of course, she wanted to trust in her classmates more than anything. They were her friends with family and dreams of their own, not heartless murderers. But, she needed to consider the circumstances. Every one of them was trapped with no hope of escape and if Monokuma gave them the shove, it could make them do something they’d regret.

“Geez!”

Kaede gave herself a light slap on the cheeks. It wasn’t like her to have such negative thoughts. At this rate, she was never going to get a good night's sleep.

_Argh! Whatever, I just need to cool down._

And she knew just how to do that. She pulled herself out of her bed and made her way to her door. As she peeked through the door, she could see Kirumi still up. Presumably doing some late night clean up. When she pushed open the door, she could also see Kiyo outside too. He looked like he was in his own head as he was watching Kirumi.

When Kaede closed her door, it made a sound that caught Kiyo’s and Kirumi’s attention.

“Ah, good evening Kaede, what brings you of late?” Kiyo greeted, giving her a look of curiosity

“Nowhere really, just heading to my lab,” she responded simply.

“This late?” Kirumi questioned.

“Yeah... don’t worry, I won’t be long.”

Kaede hoped that they wouldn’t try to push anymore info out of her. She didn’t really feel up to a conversation or feel like having to explain why she wanted to play piano this late.

“Well, alright, but make sure you return to your dorm and get proper rest,” Kirumi instructed.

“Yes, Kaede. A good rest is key to good health. I shall return to my dorm in the meantime. Good night.” With that, Kiyo gave a short wave as he turned and entered his room. But from the way Kiyo looked at her as he entered his room, it seemed he was suspicious of Kaede for being out this late. She couldn’t really blame him though.

Kirumi sighed.

“In any case, just make sure you return to your room when you’re done.”

Kaede nodded and headed out of the dorm building while waving good-bye to Kirumi.

She noticed when she left the dorm building that the outside, there was hardly anyone outside. Sure she was outside yesterday after trial, but everyone was exhausted so it was understandable why they’d just head straight to their rooms. But today wasn’t as strenuous. Sure they explored the school for new accessible areas and got a new memory from that Flashback light, but otherwise, it wasn’t as bad as she expected it to be.

Of course, perhaps everyone was stressed from everything that happened. From hoping to find a new exit to uncovering a strange memory, they were probably hoping to just sleep it off. Kaede couldn’t blame them. After all, she was one of them. However, she’d try to relive herself through piano instead.

She entered the school building and was greeted immediately with the scent of dusty air. Inside, the building seemed more ominous from the moonlight. Kaede felt herself getting her guard up. In a place like this, she couldn’t help but get a sense of paranoia. But she pushed forth towards the stairs leading to the second floor. As she reached the top, she bolted to the lab, both out of eagerness and panic. It wasn’t long before she found herself only a couple feet away from her lab. When she felt her hand land on the doorknob, she quickly but quietly shut the door behind her.

She let out a sigh as she found herself in the familiar lab once again. Kaede was happy to see such a large and beautiful piano, but she hated the fact that she was still trapped inside this dumb killing game. She wanted to go home and play her piano at home. Even if it takes a long time, she was determined to get everyone out of here.

Letting these thoughts overflow her, she took a seat once again on the piano and let her fingers dance around the keys. This time she played [Johannes Brahms Poco Allegretto from Symphony No. 3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NchW04lZBLk). Kaede described it as a melody where you were desperately trying to find something. Whether it was a person, a treasure you hold dear, or perhaps something that you did’t even know you were looking for but knew something was missing. And whether you found it or not, was up to the audience’s interpretation

As the fingers danced on the keys, she could hear the music already filling the room, as if there was no other sound that could overcome it. Not even the sound of her breathing could be heard through the pianist's sensitive ears. As it was already midway through the piece, Kaede started thinking about Rantaro. She never meant to do something that would take an innocent person’s life. Kaede wondered what would have happened if she never planned a murder. Would Rantaro still be alive? Maybe he could help everyone somehow. One thing’s for sure, he’d do a better job helping everyone than her.

The door suddenly made a knocking sound and vibrated a bit. This pulled Kaede out of her own thoughts as she focused on the door. It sounded like someone was at the door.

“Come in,” Kaede said, lifting her hands off the piano and letting them fall onto her lap.

The door opened and it turned out it was none other than Shuichi, looking into the room with curiosity.

“Oh hey, Shuichi! You need something?” she asked.

“Ah, sorry!” he quickly replied as he quickly shut the door behind him. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you! I heard you play piano and I uh...” he trailed off, looking away while scratching his cheek.

“What are you doing up so late, Shuichi?”

“I wanted to investigate the other areas one more time. I thought that the other rooms would contain some sort of hint about Ultimate Hunt. I also wanted to check on the areas that seemed inaccessible right now,” he replied, but looked down, crossing his arms. “But unfortunately, I’ve had no such luck.”

Kaede gave a supportive smile.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. You tried so you get an A for effort!” she reassured while balling her fists.

“Heh, thanks... what about you? It’s pretty late.”

Kaede looked down at her piano as she laid her fingers back on the keys. “Nothing really, just playing piano.” She then played a quick short melody on the piano as if to demonstrate.

“I see. I would like to listen to the rest of your piece, do you mind?”

Kaede shook her head, showing that she didn’t mind as she started resuming her piece. In her peripheral vision she could see Shuichi taking a seat in one of the chairs. Kaede let her fingers fly over the keys as they began to play the melody. She could see Shuichi with his eyes closed, listening. From the look on his face to his tense shoulders now sagging, she could tell he was starting to relax from his late investigation. This was what Kaede hoped to achieve. After everything, he deserved a little break. As the melody was approaching its finale, she let her fingers press lighter on the keys, creating a gentle sound. As the final note echoed, she let her hands fall onto her lap. She looked at Shuichi to see that his eyes were still closed, as if he wanted to keep that last final quiet note in his head. When there was nothing but silence, he opened his eyes.

“That was a pretty piece,” he finally said.

“Yeah, it’s Poco Allegretto from Symphony No. 3. I enjoy playing this piece. It’s not my top favorite but it’s definitely up there,” She replied happily.

“It’s quite a piece, and you played magnificently. I can practically hear the notes in my head. No wonder people call you the Ultimate Pianist,” he complimented.

Kaede rubbed the back of her head.

“It’s not that impressive. I’m just you’re average piano freak,” she simply said, looking away with a smile. She just simply loved playing piano so much that she just became good at it. If there was one thing that would always be on her mind, it would be a piano piece that was playing in her head.

“What about you Shuichi? You know how to play any instruments?” she asked changing the topic. She was eagerly hoping that Shuichi at some point played the piano.

“Huh? Me?” He covered his mouth with his hand as he tried to recollect his old memories. You would have thought Kaede asked him a complicated question as he dug through the depths of his memory. After thinking, he replied, “Ah, not really. I was never really interested in playing an instrument. Sorry...” He gave Kaede a look of an apology.

He probably expected her to look disappointed at the fact he never played any sort of instrument, especially the piano. Learning this however gave Kaede the most fantastic idea as she beamed. Her eyes were wide with the fantastic thought and she was literally grinning ear to ear at Shuichi. Shuichi however, looked confused at Kaede’s reaction.

“Uh... Kaede?”

She literally jumped out of her seat as she rushed over to Shuichi, who was startled by Kaede’s sudden reaction. She grabbed Shuichi’s arm, pulled him up and out of his seat as she moved him to the piano seat which didn't take much effort considering how startled he was that he didn't know how to react. When he was in front of the seat, she pushed his shoulders down to get him to sit down. Not sure what was going on, he just let Kaede do what she was doing.

“What do you say we do a piano duet?” she suddenly declared, her hands clasped together as she looked at Shuichi eagerly.

“Huh?” He turned around, still sitting in the seat. “You mean... us playing piano?” he replied, pointing at himself.

“Yeah!”

“I don’t even know how to play piano!” he quickly revealed, not that it was a shocker considering he never held an instrument.

“Don’t worry! I’m more than happy to teach you how to play!” Her eyes started gleaming as new ideas started popping in her head. She leaned over towards Shuichi, looking at him straight in the eye.

“I could even host piano lessons for you! We could meet an hour before nighttime and then I can teach you the basics to playing even the most difficult pieces.”

All Shuichi could do was stare from this sudden proclamation. The least to say, it was a bit overwhelming for the detective. From Kaede making all these promises of piano lessons to her being only a few inches from touching his nose with hers. Kaede realized this and went back to standing straight up, but continued to look at him with eager eyes.

“What do you say?” She said excitedly. Shuichi closed his eyes to ponder his options. She was hoping to teach Shuichi how to play piano more than anything. It always made her happy when she can show someone the joy of playing the piano. It’s almost like performing in front of people, but better, because they can experience the joy anytime they want.

Shuichi then looked up at Kaede, smiling.

“Alright. Kaede.” He stood up, extending his hand. “If you’ll have me, I’d like it if you’d teach me how to play piano.”

Extremely happy, Kaede clasped both her hands around Shuichi extended hand as she shook it in a hyper fashion. Shuichi was pretty startled by Kaede’s wide handshake.

“Of course!” she replied. “Now, let’s get started!” She moved over to the piano to take a seat.

“Wait- we’re doing this now?!”

“Well yeah! No time like the present!” she replied as she made herself comfortable on her end of the seat. She patted the other end of the seat, gesturing him to sit down.

Shuichi shook his head with a smile. It wasn’t long before Kaede started teaching him the basics of piano, starting with the position of his hands.

 

...

 

Despite having never played an instrument, Shuichi was a fast learner. He was already used to positioning his hands and familiarizing himself with the different notes. It wouldn’t be long before he could learn to play the practice pieces for beginners with the tempo.

“Shuichi, that’s impressive!” she praised. “At this rate, you may end up being the Ultimate Pianist yourself!”

He just shrugged.

“I doubt that. I think it’s just that you’re a good teacher,” he commented, still continuing to play.

She smiled at his determination to play the piano. It really did make her happy that Shuichi was learning to play piano from her. Not just because she has the opportunity to share her love of piano to another person, but also because she gets to spend more time with Shuichi. She really cared for him and wants to see him change more than anything.

Shuichi finished his piece with a soft echo of the piano.

“Not bad, Shuichi!”

Shuichi just chuckled to himself while a streak of red came across his face.

“It’s just a beginner’s melody... I don’t think it’s something to be impressed about,” he commented.

Kaede shook her head, “Don’t be silly, Shuichi! Sure it’s a beginner’s piece, but you still played it perfectly!”

“Thanks...” he muttered quietly, reaching over his head to grasp only the air. Kaede picked up on his habit.

“Heh, I guess old habits still die hard, huh?” she laughed.

Shuichi just simply averted his gaze, still blushing. Kaede simply chuckled as she reached over to turn the pages of the music book that had collections and collections of different pieces. As she turned the multiple pages, she ended up stopping at one piece that made it feel like time had completely come to a halt.

Staring back at her was the music score for Canon in D. All Kaede could do was just look back at the score. Shuichi picked up on Kaede’s odd behavior, the way she looked at the music score. Kaede could see him looking at it too, as if trying to decipher some sort of code.

“I’ve heard of this song... this is by Pachelbel, right?” Shuichi asked, turning to face Kaede. Kaede just blankly stared at the score, not saying a word. After staring at the score for longer than she should, she looked down, letting her hands fall onto her lap rather than on the keys.

“Yeah...” she replied quietly. Shuichi picked up once again at Kaede’s strange behavior.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Kaede looked over at Shuichi to see that he was looking at her with genuine concern. She could even pick up the concern tracing his voice. She looked back at the score.

“It’s just... I played this song... for Rantaro...” She responded. She could hear Shuichi swallow from this information that she just revealed to him. “It was... after his trial...”

Kaede glanced at Shuichi whose eyes were now wide. But then he closed his eyes, trying think of how to respond.

“So... that’s what you went to do that night...” Shuichi recalled.

Kaede nodded. She stared at him to see that he was still genuinely concerned over her, even after she brought up Rantaro and the trial again. He didn’t show any signs of wanting to change the topic. Rather, he wanted to know what was on Kaede’s mind. She let out a sigh.

“Shuichi... there’s just something that’s been on my mind...” She said, locking eyes with him.

“Why do you still trust me?”

She could see Shuichi’s eyes widen at her question. He was still willing to trust her to the point that he forgave her actions. But why would he go this far?

“Why aren’t you keeping your distance from me like everyone else? Why aren’t you mad at me? Why are you... still trying to protect me?...”

Kaede bit her lower lip and looked back at her grand piano. It’s not that she wanted to lose Shuichi as a friend. The opposite in fact. She wanted to continue being his friend. But how can he continue to be friends with someone who tried to murder after preaching to everyone that they shouldn’t kill? How could he bring himself to forgive and trust her when she tore all that apart? She was the first friend he made here and this had to have had a huge impact on him.

“It's because, like I stated before, you’re a kind person.” Shuichi finally responded.

Kaede still kept her eyes on the piano, not wanting to look at Shuichi.

“I know what you did was attempted murder. But it was a murder to save our lives. You weren’t trying to hurt anyone-”

“But I did hurt someone!” She blurted out loud. She didn’t mean to raise her voice, but she couldn’t help herself. She couldn’t bottle up her guilt anymore. “Don’t you get it?! I’m a horrible person! What I ended up doing took an innocent life... Even if it was ruled out to be a suicide, I betrayed everyone and put them all in danger...”

It was there that she turned at Shuichi, looking at him straight in the eye. “I... betrayed you. You should be mad at me! Hate me even! I-”

Shuichi put his hand on her shoulder. This caused Kaede to stop whatever she was going to say.

“You’re not horrible,” he said in straightforwardly way, as if saying that one statement would prove anything else otherwise.

“You didn’t take the first blood perk. That was the entire motive,” he simply stated and added, “If you were truly a horrible person, you would have taken it. Instead, you went through with the trial to find the mastermind, even though you knew how much danger you would put yourself in. Everything you did, you did for the sake of everyone.”

He looked up, as if searching for something up in the ceiling.

“And right now, you’re still trying to help everyone. Even now, you’re working hard to earn back that trust and keep everyone together. If that’s not kindness, I don’t know what is.”

Kaede just stared at Shuichi as he looked back at her again.

“So let’s not talk about this anymore. What we need to do is focus on what’s happening right now,” he concluded with a smile. “Okay?”

Kaede’s vision began to blur and her eyes started stinging again. She tried to get rid of the stinging by blinking the pain away. However, this inadvertently caused tears to roll down her cheeks. She quickly tried to push her tears back with her sleeves, hoping Shuichi wouldn’t notice. But his eyes managed to pick up on it.

“Kaede?!”

“I’m fine. Really, I’m fine,” she attempted to laugh still trying to push her tears that were now overflowing, unable to stop them. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me, sorry. Don’t worry about it!”

Now Kaede felt like an idiot. Shuichi looked up to Kaede in a way. She’s strong willed, friendly, and willing to do anything to protect everyone. Not to mention, she should know better than to bring up a terrible memory. And here she was, acting like a child and crying in front of him. She needed to be a leader. Kaede continued to try and force herself to stop crying and push her tears back in her eyes when felt something wrap around her body and pull her towards Shuichi. She felt his arms snake around her back, holding her tightly.

“It’s alright, Kaede. You don’t have to act strong... at least, not around me...”

More tears started rolling down her cheeks. This time however, she didn’t use her sleeve to wipe them away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his back, burying her face in his shoulder. She then sobbed all over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Rantaro!,” she sobbed. Shuichi just rubbed her back as she continued crying.

“Hic... I’m sorry, Shuichi! I promise... I promise I won’t look back anymore... I-I’ll help get everyone out of here. I’ll work hard... and make sure another killing never happens again...”

“Shh...” Shuichi just continued to hold her close, doing everything in his power to comfort her.

“I... I know it's selfish... b-but... I want everyone's trust again!” She pressed her face deeper into Shuichi's jacket, leaving a wet spot from her tears. But Shuichi didn't show any sign of being bothered as he placed his hand on her head, as if indicating that it was fine.

“It's gonna be alright, Kaede. I'm here.”

It was nothing but her, the first friend who has showed her their unshakable trust, and the pianist’s lab bathed in a calm moonlight. It was there that she truly realized that Shuichi will always have her back, no matter what. Even though she already heard Shuichi's explanation after the trial, the fact that he was here telling her that she was still the kind person he remembered and willing to comfort her removed any other lingering doubts she had with their relationship. She continued letting out her bottled up emotions, keeping that fact in mind. And through all of it, Shuichi never let go of her. She didn’t know how much time passed, but she finally felt herself calm down after that breakdown. After bawling out all of her regrets, desires, and permission for forgiveness, she could feel herself starting to slow down her breathing. Still having her face in his jacket, Kaede felt Shuichi’s hand stroke her hair.

“You okay, now?”

Kaede removed her arms around Shuichi’s back, letting them hang at her sides. When Shuichi felt this lack of contact he removed his arms, giving Kaede room. Wiping her face to remove the left over tear streaks on her face. She swallowed and gave a firm nod.

“Yeah. Thanks Shuichi.”

Giving a determined smile, she turned back to the music sheets and the grand piano. Shuichi followed her suit, facing the piano, ready for the lesson. There, she made a promise to herself that she won’t move forward with regrets. Instead, she’ll move forward with head facing forward rather than down with guilt, determined to follow a path that will save everyone, no matter what.

“Now, shall we continue the piano lesson?”

Shuichi nodded, hovering his fingers over the keys.

 

...

 

Kaede let her body fall on her bed. Letting out all her feeling really took it out on her.

Noticing how tired she was, they decided to end the piano lesson then and there. But Kaede made sure to remind him several times to meet at her lab tomorrow an hour before they turned in for the night. Shuichi had to reassure her over and over that he would not forget about their plans for tomorrow night.

It turns out Kaede just needed someone to talk to. Even though she had apologized to her classmates, it didn’t really help relieve everything. She still had her guilt and the over hanging fact that everyone was still keeping their distance from her. Kaede had no idea how much this had affected her until she had let it all out with Shuichi. After all that, Kaede felt lighter again.

She adjusted herself on the bed, snuggling herself under the blankets and sheets. With the planned piano lessons and knowing she has a person who still trusts her, she now has something she can look forward to. In fact, it was the first time in a while that she could look forward to tomorrow.

Happy with this outcome, she let her eyes close. She knew she’d get a good night’s sleep.

 

...

 

“Hey, watch where you’re going!”

“YOU watch where YOU’RE going”

“NOW-NOW. WE-MUST-GET-ALONG.”

“Shhh! You’re going to wake her up!”

“Just hurry up and put **it** there!”

“I’m on it I’m on it!... Okay, it’s all set!”

“Alright! Let move on to the next room!”

 

...

 

As the sound of the school bell echoed across her room, Kaede rubbed her bleary eyes, blinking twice. It was the first time that she was able to get a good night’s sleep. But the happy moment was short-lived as the monitor flickered to life. She turned her attention to the monitor. On screen, she could see the four cubs with drinks in their hands.

“Rise and Shine, Ursine!”

“THIS-IS-AN-OFFICIAL-ANNOUNCEMENT. IT-IS-NOW-8-AM.” Monodam stated.

“As such, nighttime is officially over!” Monosuke announced.

“So let us all greet another beautiful day in this wondrous killing game!” Monotaro cheered.

“Oh! And before we forget we delivered a special present for each of you!” Monophanie quickly added. “We left them on top of the table, so be sure to treasure it!”

“Ooh! How do you think they’ll react? I bet they’ll go crazy like it’ll be the end of the world,” bet Monosuke.

“Huh? Aren’t their lives slowly ending in a way? This is a killing game, right?” Monotaro added.

“I’M-SURE-THEY-WILL-STILL-GET-ALONG.” Monodam said, stating his own opinion.

“So long! Bear well!”

With that the monitor shut down, leaving nothing but a black screen. But Kaede was more concerned about this so called ‘present’ the Monokubs left. Recalling that they stated it was left on the table, Kaede pulled herself out of the bed stiffly and headed over there. On it, she could see some sort of pad. It looked like their E-Handbooks, but smaller and had a unappealing yellow color on it. Kaede didn’t know what to think of this ‘present.’ On the one hand, it might contain some of the answers as to the circumstances of the killing game or even their unknown memories. But on the other hand, there was no way Monokuma would make it that easy.

Either way, Kaede couldn’t just ignore it. Not knowing could put everyone in jeopardy. Not to mention, if everyone has these exact presents, the most likely scenario is that they will have already watched it and plan on discussing what they saw at the dining room.

So swallowing her nervousness down, she pressed the play button with her shaky finger.

On the screen, it had the title card “Maki Harukawa’s Motive Video: What is your motive?” with Maki’s silhouettes appearing on the sides of the screen.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll... just let you guys discuss the ending down in the comments.


	10. Chapter 10

Shuichi’s eyes fluttered open as he found himself staring at the ceiling. He turned to the monitor, thinking that maybe the school bell woke him up. But the screen was lifeless. His next instinct was to check on the clock. It read 7:52am. About 10 minutes before the morning announcement. Shuichi rolled back on his back and stared at the ceiling. Considering that everyone normally everyone gets up at the morning announcement, he decided to lounge in his bed for a bit longer.

He couldn’t stop thinking about last night. Even though he planned to just investigate the unlocked areas to find any clues that he may have overlooked previously, it turned out to be a longer night than he thought. But it turned out for the best. Shuichi enjoyed learning piano from the Ultimate Pianist and was looking forward to playing more in the future. He knew Kaede was looking forward to it too.

But the biggest thing was Kaede letting out all of her bottled up emotions. He knew that she had so much on her mind ever since the first trial. But Kaede had to wear a forced smile, pretending that she was okay in front of her classmates. Shuichi remembered some of his missing person cases. Most of the problems arose from clients being unable to communicate because of guilt or wanting to maintain their brave persona. The moment Kaede kept constantly smiling despite the distance everyone kept from her, he knew that it was like one of those cases.

Which was why he was glad Kaede decided to open up a vulnerable portion of herself to him. He was glad that he managed to convince her that she still had his trust. He was glad that she was willing to listen him. And he was glad that she finally let out all those bottled up emotions.

When she started crying, Shuichi remembered feeling her trembling in his arms, her strong grip on his jacket that caused it to wrinkle a bit, and the wet spot that he felt on his right shoulder through his clothes. At that moment, he wanted to do nothing but protect Kaede. He did everything in his power to comfort her and keep her safe in his arms, while making sure that she let it all out. It made him feel relieved that Kaede could let out the feelings that she had been hiding behind that smiling mask of hers. Even with her puffy eyes and her stained tear streaks, when he saw her smile after all that, he knew that she was okay.

Because what he saw, was her real, genuine smile.

His one hope now was that Kaede would now be able to move forward without so much guilt riding on her shoulders. Or at the very least, he hoped that if Kaede had any other problems, she’d come to him. Shuichi tried his best to emphasize the fact that she was still his friend and that she’ll always have his trust. And it seemed that this time, it got through to her.

If anything... she was very dear to him. If there was a chance that him, Kaede, and everyone else are able to stop this killing game, his only wish would be to spend more time with her even after they escape.

His thoughts were cut off when the school bell rang across his room. He turned, back to his clock. 8 am on the dot. Shuichi groaned as he knew what was coming next. Not a moment to soon, the monitor flickered on, showing the Monokubs relaxing on the couch with their drinks.

Rise and Shine, Ursine!”

“THIS-IS-AN-OFFICIAL-ANNOUNCEMENT. IT-IS-NOW-8-AM.” Monodam stated in his usual robotic tone.

“As such, nighttime is officially over!” Monosuke announced loudly and obnoxiously.

“So let us all greet another beautiful day in this wondrous killing game!” Monotaro cheered.

“Oh! And before we forget we delivered a special present for each of you!” Monophanie quickly added. “We left them on top of the table, so be sure to treasure it!”

“Ooh! How do you think they’ll react? I bet they’ll go crazy like it’ll be the end of the world,” bet Monosuke.

“Huh? Aren’t their lives slowly ending in a way? This is a killing game, right?” Monotaro added.

“I’M-SURE-THEY-WILL-STILL-GET-ALONG.” Monodam said.

“So long! Bear well!”

The monitor then shut off. Shuichi could care less about the cubs’ shenanigans. However, what did catch his attention were those so called ‘presents.’ He sat up and looked directly at the table to see, like the Monokubs said, their ‘presents.’ That is, they looked nothing more like the Monokuma file only it was smaller and had a dirty yellow cover instead. It was just sitting there, waiting to be activated.

Shuichi was hesitant. From the bits and pieces he heard from the announcement, it sounded like it was something dangerous. Possibly a motive. Shuichi clenched his fist. What should he do? Should he just leave it alone and hope for the best or should he try to watch it and maybe use the knowledge of the motive to prevent another murder from happening?

He already knew the answer as he threw the covers off of him and made his way towards the table. But as he got closer and closer to the table, his confidence slowly whittled away. He began questioning himself and his motives. Was this really a good idea? If it was a motive, it might be possible that it could put everyone in danger, including himself. He picked up the device, but made no moves to turn it on. Just looking at it gave him frightening possibilities. He could feel himself shaking and slick with sweat.

Just as he was about to put it down, a certain memory came flooding back. It was everyone going down the elevator to the first trial. While riding down the elevator, Kaede shared with him some advice, or rather back then, what Kaede thought would be her last piece of advice to him. She told him to ‘fight for the truth, no matter how scary it may be.’

He knew that in a way, ignoring this weird electronic pad would be considered running away. It may be important enough that it could mean life or death. Like in the first trial, he had to make a decision. It didn’t take long before he gripped tightly to the device and pushed the power button.

The screen flickered on and it showed silhouettes of a certain spiky haired man. He didn’t even have to read the title card to know that it was Kaito. The title read ‘Kaito Momota’s Motive Video: What’s your motive?’ But why did he have Kaito’s video in the first place? Could these videos be made to make the other person feel unsafe around that person. Before he knew it, Monokuma’s voice boomed over the device.

“Alright! Back by popular demand, it’s time for the Motive Video!” his voice said in a singy-songy way. “Who’s the most important person in your life? Without further ado...”

The screen then changed to what looked like a family photo. Kaito had on a astronaut suit and had the widest grin on his face. His arms were hooked around two elderly people. An old man and woman. Perhaps his grandfather and grandmother? Both looked very proud of him.

“Kaito Momota, the Ultimate Astronaut... Thanks to his exceptional talent, this young man is already an astronaut trainee! Wow!” Monokuma exclaimed and added, “Our team has managed to score an exclusive interview with his grandparents.”

Already Shuichi got a bad feeling as he tried to swallow back the lump forming in his throat.

“They miss their grandson terribly, and hope he returns to them safe and sound. But don’t take my word for it! Let’s hear it from the source!”

The screen then transitioned to a scene of the two elderly pair sitting on the couch, but their demeanor from before drastically changed. Their expressions have changed from cheerful and proud to melancholy and concerned.

The elderly man spoke first, “Kaito... As long as you’re alive, I don’t need anything else.”

Kaito’s grandmother spoke next, “No matter what happens, you must live. You must never give up. Please...live on. For our sakes too.”

Shuichi felt a shiver down his spine. For some reason, those words sounded... final... But Monokuma’s voice immediately ruined the mood.

“Their only wish... is for Kaito to live,” Monokuma whimpered, as _**if**_ he cared for these people’s feelings. “Will Kaito be able to fulfill his grandparents’ wish?” Now it sounded like he was putting pressure on Kaito. But if that wasn’t bad enough, Monokuma added that he remembered one other thing.

“Shortly after this interview wrapped, these old farts suffered an unfortunate accident...”

Suddenly, Monokuma appeared on the screen, having a devilish grin on his face.

“What kinda accident? That’s a secret! Find out for yourself. Puhuhuhu...” Monokuma’s laugh rang in Shuichi’s ears as the screen flickered off. Shuichi’s hands felt so clammy that he felt as if the pad would slip out of his hands.

But moreover, Shuichi’s mind had to process what he had just witnessed on the screen. What was that? The only possible conclusion that he could draw was that it was another motive, like he thought. But if this was the next motive, why did he have Kaito’s? Judging from the content of the video, this would be more of a drive to murder for Kaito than for him.

Shuichi shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to debate the reason why he had his video. He needed to find Kaito. Fast.

Within seconds, he bolted out of his room, not bothering to lock behind. His first instinct was to knock on Kaito’s door. He shot up the stairs and knocked furiously on Kaito’s door. But to his unfortunate luck, there was no response. Which left the other option that Kaito was already up and probably at the dining hall. Shuichi literally leapt down the stairs as he burst through the dorm doors and out into the open. He didn’t waste a second as he ran down the path leading to the main building. Straight ahead, he could see Keebo, keeping look out. Shuichi didn’t waste his opportunity.

“Keebo!” he called out, as he ran toward the robot.

Keebo turned around and quickly noticed Shuichi running towards him.

“Have you seen Kaito? He-”

“Shuichi! Impeccable timing!” This caught Shuichi off guard.

“We’re gathering everyone at the dining hall,” he informed.

“’We?’” Shuichi parroted.

“Kaito, Kaede, and myself. Anyway, please head over to the dining hall. The rest of us, will meet up with you shortly.” He informed and quickly left Shuichi as he ran back inside the building himself. Left with only one option, Shuichi rushed in the direction of the dining hall. It wasn’t long before he arrived on the patio and the doors leading inside. As soon as he pulled open the doors, he saw about half of the other students inside. Kiyo was playing around his medals. Kirumi was remained silent as she brought out different dishes. Himiko looked like she was trying to stay awake, like she couldn’t get any sleep the night before. Tenko was fidgeting in her seat and Tsumugi was sitting, staying still while looking down. Angie looked to be the calmest out of everyone as she was holding her prayer pose.

“Have any of you seen Kaito? I need to find him!” Shuichi blurted out, skipping over his greeting.

“I assume you are talking about the Kubz Pad, correct?” Kiyo asked.

“Kubz Pad?” he repeated.

“Yup! Shuichi, you aren’t the only one who got one. We all did!” Angie stated, bobbing her head side to side while smiling.

_Everyone has one too?_

Tsumugi nodded, still sitting in her seat. “When I woke up, I found this weird pad in my room too. So, I decided to turn it on and-”

“Wait Tsumugi,” Kirumi interrupted, holding her hand up to hush the cosplayer. “Let’s wait until everyone has arrived. Then we should discuss it.”

Not even a second passed the doors flew open. All the remaining students entered the dining hall, including Kaito, Keebo, and Kaede. The dining hall was flooded with distressed conversations between each of the other students. But as soon as Maki, the last person to enter came through the doors, Kaede was the first to speak.

“Is this everyone?”

Everyone looked around, to see if there was anyone missing. Thankfully, everyone was present.

“Alright! I think it goes without saying that we’re here to discuss the new motive Monokuma provided us,” Kaito announced.

“Yes, I believe it is important to discuss it considering this is Monokuma’s motive,” Keebo informed, raising his index finger.

“Monokuma’s motive?” Maki asked.

“Well yeah!” Kaito replied loudly as if it were obvious. “That pad contains a motive in a form of a video for every single one of us! We obviously can’t ignore it!”

“Oh... So that’s what it was,” Maki retorted, fiddling with her hair.

“Huh? Maki did you... not see it?” Tenko asked nervously.

“No. I figured it was something stupid. So I ignored it.”

Tsumugi looked at Maki in awe, “That’s kinda courageous in a way...”

Shuichi had to agree. In a way, Maki ignoring the temptation was pretty brave, especially when there had to be the overhanging fact that everyone else was going to discuss it. But then again, Maki didn’t seem like the type to fall for such underhanded tactics. So knowing that it was from the Monokubs based on the announcement, she probably figured out it was a trap.

In his peripheral vision, he saw someone shifting oddly. When he turned, he realized it was Kaede. For some reason, Kaede kept glancing towards the wall and seemed to move slightly toward Kaito whenever Maki spoke. Almost as if she was using him to hide from Maki’s view. Was something wrong? It almost seemed as if Kaede was frightened.

“So! What’s up with these videos?” Kokichi asked nonchalantly with his arms behind his head.

This brought Shuichi out of his head. As much as he didn’t want to do this, he was gonna have to deal with Kaede later. Right now, he needed to focus on the current predicament.

“I think they’re our motives. But that begs the question. Why did he mix them up?” Keebo questioned.

Kaede was the first to throw in her suggestion. “Maybe it’s to create distrust or something?”

Everyone turned to Kaede. “I mean, maybe it’s expose a person’s secrets. That could cause the receiver to either retaliate from that knowledge or the person in the video to retaliate to keep their secret hidden.”

Shuichi thought about Kaede’s suggestion. It did seem like a possibility. But from the content of the video he received, it looked like the recipient was intended to be the person in the video.

“You have a valid point Kaede. But the video I received looked like it was intended for the person in the video. If what you’re saying is true and that’s the original intent, then the message on the video would have completely different,” Shuichi explained.

“Yeah, that’s the same with me...” Himiko muttered.

“Same! Gonta got Tsumugi’s video, but Gonta still no distrust-”

“Gonta! Don’t say that!” Keebo quickly yelled, but the damage was already done.

“Oh, so you have my video...” Tsumugi mused.

“Wait... was Gonta supposed to keep secret?!” panicked Gonta.

Kaede looked away and replied with a simple ‘oh.’ Seriously, what was wrong with Kaede? She looked like she was so convinced that her suggestion was the original intent. Did she see something she thought she shouldn’t?

“So what? We might as well fuckin’ exchange them, right?!” Miu chastised.

“NO!”

The scream immediately caused Miu to freak out and shrink into a ball. Shuichi realized it was Kaede. Shuichi assumed that it was because giving them back to the original owners would guarantee a murder. But Shuichi couldn’t help but pick up something else from voice and her face. It looked like... she was desperate to not hand them back.

“We can’t do that. If these motives are used to drive the recipient to kill, then that’s more of a reason not to hand them over,” Kaede quickly explained from her sudden outburst.

“I agree with Kaede. If none of us see our intended video, then this won’t make us kill,” Keebo consented.

Shuichi mentally agreed. If these things were going to drive everyone to kill, then they should hold on to the mixed up videos, for everyone’s sake.

“While I still don’t understand why they’re mixed up, it’s best if we do not exchange them.” Keebo affirmed.

“So... we just ignore them?” Himiko asked.

“I agree. If we ignore them, then we have no motive,” Tenko replied, but still looked nervous.

“I disagree.”

Shuichi recognized that deep voice. When Shuichi looked at Ryoma, he could see a shadow over Ryoma’s eyes. Almost like he had a hostile look just now.

Tsumugi was the first to argue, “But if we look at them, then we’ll see the most important person in supposed danger, right?”

“And that’s exactly why I want to see it.”

Kaede quickly jumped in on the situation.

“You can’t do that, Ryoma!”

This certainly caught the attention of the former Tennis Pro.

“If you do that, you’ll fall into Monokuma’s trap! There’s no way I’m gonna let another killing happen!” Kaede exclaimed.

“Trap or not, it doesn’t change my opinion on the matter,” he simply stated.

Shuichi could see Kaede ball her fists, clearly frustrated with the Tennis Pro’s opinion. Shuichi knew that she wanted to get through him and protect everyone. She wanted everyone to be on the same page. However, what he didn’t expect was what Kaede said next.

“What about when you took the mafia’s life? Because of that, you were forced to give up a lot! Are you saying you willing to go through all that all over again?!”

Shuichi froze. But he wasn’t the only one shocked. He could hear a couple of the girls gasp in shock and horror and see the guys whip their heads at Kaede. They probably never thought Kaede, or anyone else for that matter, would bring up Ryoma’s past like that. Especially in a topic like this. Ryoma looked surprised at Kaede’s statement, almost hesitant for a moment. But then he pulled his hat down, looking down.

“This is different. Back then, I had a lot. But this time...” he looked straight at Kaede as he said his next words. “I’ve got nothing to lose.”

Kaede opened her mouth, as if to say something else, but she never had the chance to as slow clapping echoed in the dining hall.

“Wow Kaede!” Kokichi sarcastically cheered, continuing his slow clapping. “Using underhanded tactics to get people to agree with you!” He stopped clapping and placed his hands behind his head, bearing a wide grin. “Impressive!”

Kaede eyes stared back at Kokichi, realizing the consequence of her words. Before she could make a desperate attempt to argue Kaito’s booming voice echoed in the room.

“Alright! Shut up! All three of you!”

This loud, boisterous voice managed to calm the current tense atmosphere as all eyes were all focused on Kaito.

“Look, I think the point is, we can all agree that handing back the videos is too dangerous. So as of right now, we should hold on to them. If anyone has anything to say-”

Kokichi quickly raised his hand. Kaito looked like he was about to tell Kokichi to put his hand down or more likely, yell at him to ‘shut up.’ So before Kaito even had the opportunity, Kokichi quickly blurted out,

“I have something to say! And it’s that I actually agree with Ryoma!”

_Wh-what?_

“I mean think about it! Whenever we try to cooperate, Monokuma ends up retaliating! Remember what happened last time? We got a totally lame, unoriginal time limit motive,” Kokichi addressed.

“So... are you trying say... we shouldn’t cooperate?” Himiko summarized.

“Yup! It’s better that we act on our own, minding our own business than work together and bringing doom upon ourselves.”

“Will we really be safe if just refuse to cooperate?!” Tenko interrogated, doubting his words.

“Think about it! By not working together, Monokuma will have a difficult time retaliating if he has to deal with multiple people than just one big group at once! I tried to convey that idea to you guys by screwing around with everyone. But you’re all just too dumb!” Kokichi just blurted out loud.

“...Is that just another lie of yours?” Shuichi questioned. There was just no way he could believe him right now. If he tries to separate everyone with his selfish lies, then this would harm everyone in the end.

“Does it matter?” Kokichi simply smirked while hovering his index finger over his mouth. After making that point, he removed his finger and stated, “Well, I said my piece, so... let’s go Gonta!”

“Huh?!”

Kokichi just simply made his way from behind the table to in front of the entomologist.

“Well, duh! Remember? We agreed that we’ll think of a way to get everyone to exchange motive videos. Riiiiight?

“Oh!... We did? Gonta no remember...” he muttered.

Kokichi turned to everyone. “Welp! I’m off! Thanks for this boooooring discussion but there are better things I have to do-” as Kokichi turned the doors, he realized there was an obstacle blocking the exit. That obstacle was none other than Kaede.

“I’m not letting you leave Kokichi!” Kaede quickly declared.

“Huh? Why not?! I stated my thoughts like everyone wanted! So let me goooo!” Kokichi yelled, throwing a fit like a 5 year old kid.

“Because all you’re gonna do is put everyone in danger! I made a promise to make sure that another killing doesn’t happen! What you’re going to do will put everyone at risk,” She argued.

“...We’re you listening to what I was saying, Kaede? What are you going to do? Form a group and have a kill fest? If so, I want nothing to do with your second murder attempt,” Kokichi stated calmly.

Shuichi looked at Kaede, nervously wondering how Kaede would respond to that. He was worried that this would cause Kaede to go down that painful trip down memory lane. However, Kaede simply took a breath and replied,

“No. I’m going to work together with everyone to make sure no one dies. Including you. So please cooperate with us. If you can’t for some reason, at the very least, don’t try to separate everyone!” Kaede begged, as if she was begging for his life too.

Kokichi sighed, “Kaede, forcing me to do what you wish isn’t cooperation. It’s just simply forcing me.” Shuichi was surprised. It looked like for the first time, Kokichi was taking Kaede seriously for once. Did Kaede manage to whittle down Kokichi’s mask somehow? But that idea was short-lived as Kokichi bared a wide grin. “And if that’s your idea of cooperation, then I want nothing to do with it!”

Kaede’s lips pursed, trying to figure out something else to say as a last attempt to get through to Kokichi.

“Look, I understand if you’re worried about working together. But you should understand that acting on your own can bring some serious repercussions too! If you just do what you want without considering the others-”

Kokichi started fidgeting a squirming for some reason. “Gontaaa! I gotta use the men’s room! I can't hold it in anymore!!! Can you move Kaede out of the way?!”

Before she knew it, Gonta hoisted Kaede off her feet, grabbing her arms and leaving the rest of her body dangling. Shuichi was shocked to say the least.

“Wha-What the-?!”

“Gonta sorry, Kaede. But Kokichi need to go.” Gonta apologized, moving her aside like a rag doll, allowing Kokichi to open the door, who stopped his fidgeting charade.

“Gonta! Kokichi’s lying!” She simply yelled as she tried to escape the large man’s grip, to no avail.

“What?! Kokichi lie?!”

“Gonta, you know that’s not true! Would I ever lie to you?” Kokichi innocently smiled.

“Yes! You would!” Kaede yelled in response, still attempting to shake out of Gonta’s arms.

“Well, I’ve had fun chatting with you and all. But I’m bored so I gotta go! Bye!” He then waved with his back to everyone as he disappeared in the hallway. Gonta then plopped Kaede down as he ran after Kokichi, calling out to him that he shouldn’t just wander off by himself again.

All that lingered was silence. Shuichi looked over to Kaede to see that she was staring at the door that Kokichi just left through. It was just as he feared. Kaede attempted to pour her heart and efforts to try and convince Kokichi with her earnest feelings. But all Kokichi did was trample all over that. He couldn’t see her face as she was facing away from him, but he knew she was upset that she couldn’t convince him. Shuichi didn’t really know what to do, but his concern was soon alleviated as he saw Kaito walk over to Kaede and place his hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t tear yourself over this Kaede. You tried your best to get through to him. It’s his own fault for doing this, not yours,” Kaito reassured.

Kaede let her shoulders sag and let her turned her head down, taking in Kaito’s words.

“Yeah... I just... was hoping to get through to Kokichi...” Kaede admitted, letting out a sigh. Shuichi was relived that Kaito was there to comfort Kaede at a time of need. He just wished she could’ve gotten through to Kokichi. Maybe then, she would’ve felt better about herself.

“Well if we’re done, I think I’ll just be on my way.”

Shuichi turned to realize it was Ryoma who said those words. As he was heading towards the doors, Kaito called out to him,

“Hey Ryoma! I don’t know why you would do something so stupid as to see your own motive video. But know this: We’re different. We want to live.”

Ryoma, not even bothering to look back at Kaito simply stayed silent. But soon replied,

“...I’m not gonna get in yours or anyone’s way.”

After stating that, he waved his hand and left the dining hall, not even bothering to look back.

“Hmph,” Maki crossed her arms. “If that’s all there is to discuss, I’m leaving.”

Maki started making her way to the exit.

“Wait? Now?! But you didn’t have breakfast yet!” Kaito called hoping that reason would be enough to make Maki stay longer.

“Not hungry.”

Maki left through the open doors with her hair flowing behind and left everyone’s line of sight. Shuichi heard someone exhale. It was none other than Kaede. For some reason, she seemed a bit more relaxed. She wasn’t completely calm, but she looked as if the one heavy piece that was bothering her was removed from the overbearing pile of other things that were still causing her paranoia. This begs the question, what was it that made her act this way?

“Well I’m done dealing with all you douchebags! Hey Kirumi! Bring me breakfast at my lab later! I think staying here with all these idiots is making me dumber by the second,” Miu commanded as she marched out of the dining hall through the outside door.

“I would like some time alone as well. I need some time to collect my thoughts... Please excuse me,” With that, Kiyo made his way out of the dining hall.

Now this left about half of the students left. But some of the students were unsure of what to do or how to respond to everything that has happened. Everyone was left in a somber atmosphere. Even Shuichi was at a stalemate himself.

“Everyone...” Kaede muttered. This was almost like the last time. The time where Monokuma announced the first motive. Everyone has dispersed and refused to cooperate with one another. This left everyone who remained to feel empty. Especially Kaede, who wanted nothing more than for everyone to be friends with each other.

“Why is this happening again?” Kaede questioned.

“Hey don’t worry about it, Kaede! It’s typical degenerate male behavior for them to not listen to a fellow female when they’re right! They’re just too prideful!” Tenko tried to reassure, patting her on the back. Kaede nodded, but still focused on the door most of the students left through.

“So let’s just not worry! Right, Himiko?!” Tenko turned to the red head. However, Himiko was looking down, despondent. She didn’t even bother to respond to Tenko’s question. As Shuichi looked closer, he could see sorrow in Himiko’s eyes and her lips were pursed. She just looked so lost.

“Himiko? What’s wrong?! Are you upset?! Don’t worry! When I’m sad, I just have one delicious serving of tripe hot pot!” Tenko quickly looked at Kirumi. “Kirumi! Make two portions of tripe hot pot! Extra large!” She requested to the maid.

“Don’t you guys think you’re depending on Kirumi too much?” Tsumugi commented.

“This is fine, do not worry. I will also make sure to deliver breakfast to the others,” she replied.

“Tenko, Tenko, Tenko,” the artist tsked. “Himiko isn’t hungry. I think this cuts deeper than that. Atua can sense Himiko’s pain.”

Pain... That’s what Shuichi and everyone felt at the moment. Being in this hopeless situation and with everyone disjointed like this, it left them with nothing but hurt. How can anyone possibly be able to recover?

“Hey guys...” Shuichi’s attention was pulled straight at Kaede. This time though, she wasn’t looking away or looking down, she wasn’t even fidgeting. Instead, she was looking straight ahead at them. “I know that we’re the only ones who think we should continue to work together. So, I just want to say, let’s make sure we work together to protect everyone. Including those who believe they should work alone,” Kaede declared. No doubt, this was her attempt to change the mood.

Immediately, Kaito banged his fists together and yelled,

“Yeah! I, Kaito Momota Luminary of the Stars promise to make sure that another killing doesn’t happen!”

“Same! With my Neo-Aikido skills, I swear to protect my fellow classmates! Especially the females!” Tenko roared.

“Nya-ha-ha! Atua says He’ll watch over everyone,” Angie cheered, making a prayer pose.

“Nyeh... Me too...” Himiko quietly agreed, but still looked sad.

“I will do my best to serve and protect each and every one of you. This is a maid’s selfless devotion after all,” Kirumi swore.

“I don’t know if plain old me can do much. But I will do my best!” Tsumugi promised.

“I will do my best as well!” Keebo stated, smiling.

“And I promise to make sure to protect all our friends,” Shuichi promised.

Kaede nodded.

“Alright! Let’s continue to work together and end this dumb killing game!” Kaede balled her fists with a smile, showing her determination. Kaito and Tenko gave out a cheer while Shuichi smiled in agreement. Leave it to Kaede to help change the atmosphere. Afterwards, Kirumi announced that everyone should eat the breakfast she prepared for them. Everyone took that as a cue to sit down and eat their meal. Well, everyone but Kirumi who stood beside the table, ready to offer her services during their meal.

Although everyone was feeling better for the most part, Shuichi for some reason just couldn’t get comfortable. Even after Kaede’s speech to everyone to work together and everyone agreeing to work together to prevent another death, Shuichi for some reason still felt a sense of dread. But there was no reason to feel that way, right? He could trust his friends to make sure nothing bad will happen, and he even has friends he can turn to in case something should go wrong. So, he should be more relieved at all these facts.

...Right?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaede is so not feeling good... I feel like my apology letter keeps on getting longer and longer.  
> Also, Kaede getting picked up like a ragdoll by Gonta reminds me of Ore Monogatari when Takeo picks up Rinko... Lol, I dunno why I mentioned that. It's just something that kept popping up in my head when I wrote/read it.


	11. Chapter 11

After everyone agreed to make sure that they protect everyone, they concluded the meeting and went their own ways. Kaede made her way back to her lab. When she entered, her grand piano was still sitting in the center of the room as per usual. It glistened in the sunlight, yet was still cool under her touch. As her fingers brushed against the black casing all the way to the lid sitting over the keys, she noticed there was barely any dust on it. It made her happy that she was doing a good job keeping it in pristine condition. But it also made her wonder how her old piano at home was doing. Was it collecting dust? Waiting to be played again?

She lifted the lid of the piano, seeing white and black keys now reflecting the sunlight that they were exposed to. This time, Kaede decided that she wanted to play something more modern. She explored the back shelf and came across some music score that had covers of some modern music. Some of them she recognized. She decided to go with a certain score that was originally a techno song composed by a Canadian musician but worked with an animation company in Japan. Picking up the score, she adjusted her skirt as she took a seat in front of the piano, placing the paper on the piano.

Kaede let her fingers hover over the keys as she studied the piece. She remembered listening to the original and how great it sounded. She was eager to hear how it sounded on piano. But, she just couldn’t shake off everything that happened this morning. From trying to convince everyone to cooperate and not hand the motive videos over to yelling at Ryoma, to dealing with Kokichi and his shenanigans, to... even Maki’s presence.

Ever since she watched Maki’s motive video, she felt uneasy about her. In all honesty she didn’t know what to feel. Sure she was an assassin, but she did it for the sake of the people in that video. Her backpack suddenly felt heavy, even though the only things inside it were a spare vest, some snacks, and the motive video.

Sighing, Kaede pulled off her backpack and rummaged through. Going only by touch, she finally felt something smooth between her fingers. She then pulled out the Kubz Pad. Kaede decided that maybe rewatching it one more time might give Kaede some idea on what to do next.

She pressed the on button. The screen came to life with the same title card and Maki’s silhouettes.

“Alright, back by popular demand, it’s time for the Motive Video! Who’s the most important person in YOUR life? And without further ado...”

The screened changed into a scene of Maki. She looked younger. Probably about 11 or 12 years old. She was surrounded by younger looking kids tugging her left and right. Her face had a look of frustration, yet, she still looked more... open than the Maki she knows now.

“Maki Harukawa... just a simple child caregiver who took care of younger children at the orphanage. Although she wasn’t a fan of little kids, they still loved her like she was an older sister. In a way, she viewed them as the closest thing she has as a family. An annoying family that is! Pffft!”

Kaede rolled her eyes at Monokuma’s unnecessary joke. The screen then changed to a picture of a group of men in black suits, observing the children and Maki from afar.

“One day, strange group of men in black came to observe the playing children. Turns out, they were looking for potential assassins to take under their wing. And with that, they selected none other than Maki Harukawa! Woo-hoo! Despite the cruel business, the group promised to donate a large sum to the orphanage. Knowing that the orphanage had the overhanging doom of going under, she agreed. Why? Because Maki considered the people at the orphanage to be the most important people in her life.”

The screen then changed into a series of Maki working as an assassin. There were different pictures of Maki training, Maki about to kill, and Maki finishing the job. Yet, each of those pictures still had her wearing the same cold, emotionless expression. Kaede could feel the hairs on her neck rise and sweat rolling down the side of her head.

“Maki worked hard to become the ideal, exemplary assassin, earning the title ‘Ultimate Assassin.’”

The screen changed once again to the same young children and some of the other caretakers playing games outside of an old looking school building. Possibly the orphanage. They looked so happy. As if they were blissfully unaware of what happened with Maki.

“And like they promised, that organization continued to donate large sums to the orphanage. The children could now live happy lives without having to worry about going out into the streets. They now have warm food and new clothes each day thanks to these generous donations,” Monokuma’s voiced whispered in a happy tone.

The screen suddenly had a green swirling effect, blurring the entire image. As Kaede stared intently, trying to swallow the bile back down her throat, Monokuma’s voice came up once again.

“Unfortunately, a terrible event befell on the poor children and caretakers of the orphanage... One that brought ruin and disaster... possibly even worse than a death by an assassin’s knife!”

Monokuma then popped up on the screen.

“What sort of disaster you ask? Pu-hu-hu! Find out for yourself!”

With that the screen cut to black, indicating the end. Kaede however, continued to look at the screen, processing what she just saw.

There was no mistaking what she saw. Maki wasn’t the Ultimate Child Caregiver, she was an assassin. No, the Ultimate Assassin. A person who was willing to kill someone to make a profit, without even worrying about the consequences.

And Maki was hiding that fact from all of her classmates.

She kept her distance from everyone, she doesn’t talk about herself, and she guarded her lab to keep it a secret. She even went as far as to threaten Kaede just to prevent her from entering her lab and discovering her true identity.

This made Kaede sick to her stomach. She wanted nothing more than to warn all her classmates of Maki. But there was also another factor that Kaede saw. That was the orphanage. The only reason Maki joined the organization was to protect the orphanage and everyone there. She probably had no choice whatsoever. Even though Kaede saw Maki working as assassin in the video, even though all she saw was the cold, empty expression in Maki’s eyes, Kaede still wanted to believe that deep down, it wasn’t Maki’s choice. That possibly deep down, she still had a kind heart somewhere.

Of course, the other big reason she didn’t want to reveal Maki’s secret was, as much as she hated to admit it, she was scared. If Maki even found out that Kaede knew her real identity, who knows what she’d do. Kaede was scared to think of all the different possibilities that Maki would do.

How on earth can Kaede get Maki to cooperate with everyone without giving away the fact that she knew Maki’s secret? How can she even get Maki to cooperate in the first place? She’d most likely turn away the offer of working with Kaede no matter how earnest Kaede is.

She sighed.

The door then made a knocking sound. Instinctively, Kaede shoved the Kubz Pad back inside her backpack and quickly put it back on.

“Come in!” she answered, a bit too loudly. She quickly pursed her lips as the doors open. Unexpectedly it was the Ultimate Tennis Pro, Ryoma.

“Oh Ryoma! I didn’t expect it to be you,” she commented.

Ryoma simply pulled his hat down and nodded. Kaede then noticed something in his other hand. It looked like some sort of ball but red.

“Did you need something?” she asked, tilting her head.

Ryoma then took the object he had in his hand and tossed it overhand to Kaede. This caught the pianist by surprise, but she managed to react quickly enough to catch the object heading at her. As she clasped it in both hands over her head, she brought it into her view. Upon observation, she realized it was an apple.

“Just thought I drop by,” Ryoma responded. He tucked his hands into his jacket pockets.

“Kirumi stopped by my room to bring breakfast. She mentioned that she noticed you didn’t eat much like usual in the dining hall.”

Kaede widened her eyes. She was surprised Kirumi noticed. Kaede did eat, but she believed she ate her fill. If the Ultimate Maid noticed that she ate less, then it’s clear that she lost her appetite somehow. This killing game was probably to blame. Now it was messing with her mind.

“Fruit’s a good choice. It’s convenient and fills you up.”

Kaede nodded, “Thank you, Ryoma.”

Ryoma just shifted his hat as he turned towards the door.

“Wait Ryoma!” she called out. She jumped out of her seat and ran beside the piano to look at Ryoma better. Ryoma looked over his shoulder, but still had his body facing the door, as if ready to leave as soon as possible.

“I... want to apologize...”

Ryoma now turned around, facing Kaede.

“Apologize? For what?”

Kaede sighed, “For... what I said earlier... about what I said about your past...”

Ryoma only replied with an ‘oh’ and pulled his hat down.

“I was out of line and I had no right to say any of that stuff to you... So, I’m sorry...” she apologized, her eyes downcast. The silence drifted for a bit until Ryoma let out his breath.

“I’ll admit, you did catch me off guard. But you shouldn’t worry, it didn’t bother me,” he replied.

“Well it bothered me...” Kaede admitted.

“I see. In that case, apology accepted.”

“Thanks...”

Ryoma just shrugged. Ryoma turned once again to the door, ready to leave once again.

“Wait!” Kaede called, placing the apple down on the piano.. This stopped the former Tennis Pro from leaving once again. Ryoma looked at Kaede again, expecting her to say what was on her mind for stopping him.

“Ryoma... I just wanted to ask you.” After saying that, Kaede placed her hands on her elbows. She was hesitant to say what she was about to say. But she had to hear what he had to say. If anything it was for the sake of protecting everyone. That included Ryoma.

“Are you still serious?... About seeing your Motive Video?” she asked hesitantly. This time, Ryoma’s eyes widened. It was brief, but Kaede definitely saw surprise in his eyes. He quickly closed his eyes, pondering at how to respond to the pianist’s question. He pulled his hat down as he tried to think. But then he pulled his hat up and opened his eyes. However, he looked away and out the windows than look back at Kaede’s expectant eyes.

“When you’re deprived of a reason to live, what do you search for next?”

Kaede was surprised that Ryoma countered her question with a question of his own. Kaede opened her mouth but no sound came out. It was just left hanging. Kaede closed her mouth as she tried to think of the answer Ryoma wanted to hear. But she got nothing. All she could give was the answer she’d give herself.

“I guess, I search for the small things. Like try my favorite ice cream flavor again, hang out with my friends, even listen to my favorite tunes. Simple things like that can eventually become something big, like a reason to live,” she answered.

Ryoma shrugged, “That’s a pretty optimistic answer.”

“What about you Ryoma?” Kaede asked, but she felt nervous to hear his answer. He only sighed as he continued to look out Kaede’s lab window, fiddling with the candy cigarette in his fingers.

“When you’re deprived of a reason to live...” He then looked at Kaede’s eyes as he said the last part.

“... you search for **a reason worth dying for**.”

Those words almost made the air freeze as Kaede felt paralyzed. What could she even say? All she could do was stay silent at those words. Kaede’s hands tightened around her elbows without her even thinking.

“And you think that Motive Video will have that?” Kaede responded. As of now, it was the only thing she could say. Ryoma nodded, placing the candy cigarette back between his lips and gazed out the lab window.

Kaede wanted to just get through to Ryoma somehow. She wanted to convince him that this option was not the way to go. So Kaede made the decision to try and get through to Ryoma one more time, even if in his eyes, she’d sound like a naive idiot. Carefully choosing her words, Kaede responded,

“Remember what I said in your lab Ryoma? I told you you had a future, too.”

Ryoma only continued to look out her lab window. At this point, Kaede couldn’t tell if Ryoma was listening or not. Most likely, her words right now are just white noise to him now. Regardless, Kaede was determined to help Ryoma.

“I want to get out with everyone. That includes you too, Ryoma. And I’m looking forward to us being friends once we get out. Being able to look forward to a future where the people here become friends and continue to support you is reason enough, don’t you think?” Kaede asked, still looking at him even though he’s looking away.

Pulling down his hat, he said, “So, that’s your reason to die for?”

“No.”

Surprised by her simple response, Ryoma turned to Kaede. He noticed her unwavering look in her eyes. She was staring straight at him.

“That’s my reason to live.”

Ryoma opened his mouth, trying to formulate a response. But his mouth just opened and closed on its own with no sound coming out. From the looks of it, it looked like he was mouthing the words ‘a reason to live.’ Ryoma closed his mouth and pulled his hat down again, but looked at Kaede.

“Hey, Kaede. Can you play something for me?”

Kaede just stood there, surprised at the sudden change of topic. Especially since it changed from a serious mood to now a sudden but simple request. Kaede couldn’t even formulate a response to this. All she did was stare at him wide-eyed. But Ryoma didn’t seem to care. In fact, he just looked at her curiously, waiting to see how she’ll respond. It looked like he could wait forever, like there was nothing else to do. After what seemed like forever, she quickly nodded.

“Uh, yeah sure... I don’t mind,” she sputtered as she quickly made her way back to her seat in front of the piano. As she adjusted herself, Ryoma moved toward one of the shelves and leaned against it.

“Any requests?” she inquired as she hovered her fingers over the keys.

Ryoma just shrugged.

“Surprise me,” Ryoma answered simply.

Kaede closed her eyes. She wondered if Ryoma wanted to hear the piece that she was about to play before she decided to watch the motive video again. Thinking about it, Ryoma might enjoy [this piece](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNze7yakEfE). Originally, the song had the message of continuing to move forward. Even if you lost someone dear to you, they are not truly gone. They still have things left behind to you and they will still watch over you. Kaede wondered if that same message could still get through even if it was on a different instrument and format. Determined to test that theory, she let her fingers dance on the keys on the first notes. She could almost sense the entire room filled with music. The room was soon filled with a calm and melancholy atmosphere. When she pressed her keys harder, she feel a strong echo that resonated in her own soul. She wondered if somehow the music is resonating with Ryoma too.

As the piece was approaching its end, Kaede glanced at Ryoma to see that he had his eyes closed and his arms crossed across his chest. Kaede pressed the last note gently and let it echo across the room. When Ryoma sensed that the piece was over, he pulled himself off the shelf and opened his arms and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“That’s a nice piece.”

Kaede smiled.

“Thanks. This piece is actually a piano cover of a popular techno song. As much I love the piano version of it, you should also listen to the original too when you have the chance,” she recommended.

Ryoma just simply nodded, keeping his eyes closed.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ryoma opened his eyes and placed the candy cigarette in between his lips again. He then shoved his hands in his pockets.

“By the way, I’ve noticed something...” Ryoma said with his back to her.

Kaede wondered what it was that Ryoma was going to say. Before Kaede asked, Ryoma just simply continued as if he knew what Kaede was going to say, or rather, ask.

“You look like you finally opened up.”

Kaede just looked at Ryoma who still had his back to her. She could see him adjusting his hat and his shoulders relax.

“Before, you looked like you were constantly forcing yourself to wear a mask, but it looks like now, it’s come off a bit,” he mentioned.

Kaede knew what he was talking about. It was true. Kaede tried to do her best to try and pretend that she was okay in front of the others even in her predicament. But thanks to Shuichi and his support, she could feel more proud being in her own skin. Who would have thought that just opening up to one person would make her feel so much better?

“Yeah... I feel better thanks to him. I owe him a lot...” Kaede responded quietly. She let her fingers glide over the keys as she said that. If it wasn’t for Shuichi, she probably would’ve continued to bottle up her emotions to the point where she becomes blind to everything that’s actually going on.

Ryoma began walking towards the door and gripped the doorknob above him.

“That’s good,” he replied, sounding pleased. As he opened the door, Kaede quickly jumped up.

“Ryoma wait!”

She rushed over until she was about a meter behind him. She could see her shadow cast over him and the hallway that was now exposed through the open door. Ryoma looked like he was definitely ready to leave Kaede’s lab. He didn’t look like he was up to any further conversations with her. But Kaede couldn’t just let this sit without it being actually resolved. Or the very least, find out his feelings.

“Are you... still going to look for your motive video?” she asked hesitantly.

Ryoma didn’t respond, so Kaede decided to continue.

“I can understand your reasons in a way. But I just can’t agree with your actions. Please, won’t you reconsider?” she pleaded.

Kaede desperately hoped that somehow, she got through to Ryoma. But that was just wishful thinking. At the very least, she hoped that somehow, she convinced him that he had other choices too. It’s not like Ryoma’s life was at a complete dead end and that he should just give up. Not only that, but if Ryoma ended up seeing his Motive Video, that doesn’t just give him a drive to kill, but also put another person in danger because of Monokuma’s planted motive. No matter what, Kaede had to protect both parties.

All Ryoma did was play with his faux cigarette between his fingers, trying to formulate some sort of response. But then he balled his fist, cigarette trapped in its prison.

“It’s gonna take more than a conversation to change my mind.”

With that Ryoma walked out of the lab, letting the door swing shut. Kaede was left in her lab, now all alone. All she could do was stare at the shut door. Ryoma left no trace of his presence. Kaede couldn’t get through to Ryoma. She desperately hoped that she had helped Ryoma somehow, but it looks like the conversation had gone nowhere. She wondered if it’ll be like that with Ryoma every time. Or worse case, it’ll be like that with everyone as the killing game progresses.

Kaede looked back at her piano and saw the bright red apple still sitting on top. Sighing, she gripped tightly to the apple. The sunlight reflected off its shiny skin. In the sunlight, it shined a light pink. Kaede bit into the fruit.

Despite the sweet, juicy flavor, all Kaede could taste was the bitter flavor in the back of her throat.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was getting a little tired of having Kaede play classics all the time. So I decided to go with a more modern song and have her do a piano version of it. And being the nerd I am, I thought 'Hey why not "Shelter?"'  
> I could imagine Kaede would do every piano cover any popular modern song TBH
> 
> Also update: Next chapter will be a bonus event! And thanks for being patient! I know it's been a while so thank you!


	12. Bonus Chapter 2: A Girl's Sweet Jubilee

Kaede sat on the side of her bed. She was upset that despite pouring her heart to convince Ryoma to not give up and gave him other reasons to live, he was still intent on looking at his motive video. Even though Kaede wanted to find him again and try one more time to convince him, he didn’t look like he wanted to have another conversation anymore. In fact, it looked like he wanted some time for himself to think about things. He was originally at Kaede’s lab just to bring her a snack, but ended up getting involved in a long conversation instead. She needed to consider his feelings too.

So as much as she wanted to try and talk to him one more time, she decided to give him his needed space. At the very least, she could try and get through to him tomorrow or some other time when he was up to it. She just hoped at that time, he’ll be up to listening to her and reconsider things.

Kaede looked at the clock. She still had plenty of time before her promised piano lessons with Shuichi. She decided that it was best to get out of her stuffy room and enjoy the outdoors for a bit. Kaede pulled herself out of bed and headed out of the dorms.

Outside, everyone was minding their own business. Kaede could see Himiko and Angie sitting on the benches near the cherry blossom trees. Angie looked like she was sketching something on paper while Himiko was watching earnestly, like Himiko was watching a magic trick herself. In the distance, close to the doors leading to the casino, she could see Shuichi walking along side with Kaito. It looked like they were deep in conversation seeing that Kaito was talking so excitedly while Shuichi was smiling and chuckling beside him. From the looks of it, everyone was starting to feel better, considering the circumstances.

However, she didn’t see Kokichi, Gonta, or Ryoma anywhere. It kind of worried her considering they were the only ones who were against cooperating with one another. And there was also Maki, the faux childcare giver. Kaede didn’t think she’d do anything crazy like kill Kaede for knowing her true identity. Especially in a killing game situation like this. But who knows what other things Maki could do.

Shaking her head from these frightening thoughts, she decided to take a bit of a walk on the path heading to the dining hall. She was right, fresh air really did do wonders. But her peace and quiet was interrupted by someone annoyingly chanting and yelling. Bothered, Kaede followed the source of those weird chants. As she walked passed the Terrence, she saw a figure doing stretches and doing high kicks in the air. She realized it was none other than Tenko, practicing her Neo-Aikido outside in the open. Tenko was facing the back of the school so she didn’t notice Kaede approaching her. But as soon as Kaede was in close proximity, Tenko felt her presence as she swiftly turned to side kick the person behind her. But the moment she saw that it was Kaede, she froze and stopped her foot only a few inches before it hit her head. But Kaede could feel the wind rush past her.

“Aah! Kaede I’m so sorry!”

Tenko quickly removed her foot and back on the ground. Kaede let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. That kick really took her by surprise. Kaede looked and saw that Tenko was sweating really nervously and looked really guilty.

“I-It’s fine. I’ll admit, you really took me by surprise...” Kaede replied.

Tenko looked really upset for frightening another girl. Kaede decided that it would be best not to dwell on the incident for Tenko’s sake.

“Although, I will admit this, the way you quickly stopped when you realized it was me and the sudden gust I felt against my skin was really impressive! You so amazing, Tenko,” Kaede complimented with a smile, hoping that this would help cheer the girl up.

“H-huh?” Tenko’s face literally started glowing a bright red and started getting covered in beads of sweat. She quickly covered her face with her hands and faced away from Kaede.

“S-Stop it... You’re making me blush...” muffled Tenko through her hands.

Well, even if she was embarrassed for some reason, at least she doesn’t look upset like she did before.

“Hey Tenko, why are you even back here anyway?” Kaede asked in a very curious manner. She knew Tenko was here to practice her Aikido, but why in a secluded place of all places? If anything, the gym or Ryoma’s lab would make the most sense.

“That’s simple! If I were to practice my skills in a public setting, I could instinctively throw a person over my shoulder! Or punch them in the gut! Or even almost kick them in the face like I almost did with you!” Tenko explained loudly.

Kaede only replied with a nervous ‘I see.’ She had no idea how close she was from receiving a kick to the face. Seeing how she’s the Ultimate Aikido Master, who knows how painful it would’ve been. If anything, Kaede probably just barely escaped from a one way trip to a world of pain.

“Of course, if it was degenerate male that snuck up on me, I won’t show any hesitation!” Tenko declared while getting into fighting position. Kaede should probably warn Shuichi to never approach Tenko while she’s ‘warming up.’

“Gah! I just have so much built up frustration! We’re stuck in a difficult situation and the degenerate males aren’t doing anything to help!”

 _I’m pretty sure there are a couple of girls who don’t want to cooperate either..._ Kaede thought wistfully.

“...Then again... I’m no better... We’re suppose to work together to protect everyone. And here I am, secluding myself to vent out my frustration,” Tenko whispered, looking down.

“Don’t say that Tenko!” Kaede tried to reassure and then reasoned, “I’m sure we’re all pretty frustrated with the current outcome. But at least we’re planning to help everyone rather than separating them. You just need time to recollect yourself.”

“Thanks Kaede,” Tenko replied, “But I still want to do something to help...”

Kaede pondered on how to help Tenko. Tenko was still upset. If anything she just needed to do something else. Something that was calm and fun to get her mind off of this. Tenko was probably wanted to do something that won’t involve any of the other guys, considering how much she hated them. What Tenko probably needed was something that she could do that all the other girls could do.

An idea then popped in Kaede’s head.

“Say Tenko, I have a teen magazine that we could look at,” Kaede offered. She slid off her backpack to rummage through. Shuffling through the random junk in her bag, she finally pulled out the said magazine. She handed it over to Tenko.

“Ooh! This looks interesting!” Tenko exclaimed, taking the magazine from Kaede’s hands and started flipping through the pages, with her face close to the little book.

Kaede stood back again and looked over Tenko’s shoulders. In the magazine, she saw popular tourist resorts, pictures of popular bands, and even pictures of boy’s and girl’s fashion.

“Ooh! This looks cool!” Tenko squealed as she pointed out the page that had pictures of cute desserts made of different tropical desserts.

_I’m pretty sure that’s just an ad for a popular sweets restaurant in Okinawa..._

Tenko then let out a squeal of excitement as she gripped tightly to the magazine. This caught Kaede by surprise.

“Uh, Tenko?”

“I just got the most perfect idea! Kaede! Would it be alright if I borrow this magazine for a bit?” she asked earnestly, hoping Kaede would allow her to.

“Sure, go on ahead.”

“And... will you be free later this afternoon?” she questioned with her fingers pressing against each other. It seemed like she was planning on some sort of arrangement and was invited. Kaede was definitely curious as to what Tenko was planning.

_Should I use my free time to spend time with Tenko?_

“Yeah, I should be free.”

“Perfect!” Tenko gushed, giving herself a double fist pump.

“Alright, later today, come by the dining hall!” she instructed as she hopped off to do whatever it was she was planning.

_I guess I have plans today..._

Kaede made sure to remind herself not to forget her plans with Tenko for today.

 

...

 

Kaede was fiddling around on her bed, trying to get comfortable in her room. Lying on her bed felt so relaxing in a way. Going out and doing various activities was always something Kaede looked forward too, but it’s nice to kick up your feet and relax a bit too.

Of course, that moment of relaxation didn’t last long when she remembered the arrangement she made earlier with Tenko.

_Ah! That’s right! Tenko wanted me to come over to the dining hall. I wonder what she has planned..._

Kaede pulled herself out of her comfy little bed and headed out of her dorm room. As soon as she was outside, she made a hard right heading to the main building, but not before making another left which would lead straight to the dining hall. As she was making her way there, Kaede wondered what kind of plans Tenko had. The least likely scenario was Tenko teaching them some sort of martial arts considering the room was small and there was a lot of furniture in the way. Well, Tenko could easily fix that problem by moving the table and chairs out of the way and just invite Kaede herself. Although, Kaede was not looking forward to any sparring match whatsoever. She’d just lose immediately against the Ultimate Aikido Master. And it would end painfully. Gulping, Kaede hoped it was not it as she finally arrived at the doors.

When she pushed them open, she was relieved to see that the table and the chairs were still in place. She also realized she wasn’t the only one here. In the dining hall were Kirumi, Tsumugi, and Tenko. Both looked like they were lounging around, waiting for something.

“Ah! Kaede! You’re here!” Tenko loudly greeted, which got the Maid’s and Cosplayer’s attention.

“I see that Tsumugi and Kirumi are here... are we doing something together?” Kaede asked.

Tenko nodded excitedly, “Yep! Seeing those delicious-looking tropical desserts made me want to eat all of them! Then I had the perfect idea of having an ‘all-girls cooking’ hangout!”

Kirumi stepped in. “Tenko approached me, showing the magazine to me. And after applying some research and knowledge of my own, I was able to recreate the recipes for each of them,” explained Kirumi.

“Really? That’s amazing, Kirumi!” Kaede complimented. She had to admit, Kirumi was quite admirable. Kirumi just curtsied and politely smiled at Kaede’s compliment.

Tsumugi took the chance to glance around, “So how much longer until everyone else shows up?”

Tenko suddenly looked a bit nervous, she was fidgeting as if figuring out how to answer Tsumugi question.

“Uh actually, this is everyone,” Tsumugi murmured, hoping that no one heard. But that wasn’t the case.

Kaede looked around the room. So it was going to be just the four of them?

“How come?” Kaede asked.

Tenko clasped her hands together, her fingers moving almost of their own will.

“Well, Maki didn’t want to join because she didn’t want to leave her lab alone. I tried to get her join but she started giving me a frightening look, so I decided to leave her be. Miu was... lack of a better word ‘busy’ and wanted nothing to do with us. And Angie said that she and Himiko had plans to hang out.”

Tenko looked upset over this outcome. She was glancing at the floor as she mentioned Himiko and Angie.

“It can’t be helped. I’m sure they have things they want to do,” Kirumi reasoned.

“I know, I know. I did plan this last minute, and I’m sure everyone is shaken up because of that crazy motive...”

Tenko’s expressing then changed from a remorseful look to an upset and embarrassed on as she shut her eyes with her mouth wide, sweat slipping down the sides of her face. She then whined, “But I at least wanted Himiko to come!...”

 _Ah... so that’s the big reason..._ Kaede thought as she looked forlornly at the ceiling.

“But I’m sure even with just the four of us, it can still be fun!” Kaede reassured, clasping her hands together, and added, “Besides, I would like to try making the desserts with everyone else. It beats cooking by yourself!”

Tenko looked at Kaede admirably as she said those words. It seemed her words got through to her as she saw a Tenko look up at Kaede’s face.

“I guess you’re right. I wanted to get all the girls to get along. But the fact that I got at least half the fellow females here is considered enough of a success I guess.”

Tenko then balled her fists as she went on with her little monologue. “Not to mention, it would be dishonorable for me to not cook up all these recipes after all the effort Kirumi went through, and having you and Tsumugi take time off your schedules to come here!” Tenko exclaimed with determination. She placed her hands on hips as she held her chest up high. At least Kaede managed to make Tenko happy and help her realize that her efforts weren’t all for naught.

“I have already made preparations in the kitchen, when you are ready, please enter the kitchen,” instructed Kirumi as she turned on her heels and headed first into the kitchen.

Kaede looked amongst the remaining students. Tenko already looked excited to get started with the others.

“Alright! Let’s head over!” Tenko declared as she marched after Kirumi.

“Well, I’m plainly not an expert in the kitchen, but cooking cute desserts does sound like fun! In fact, I’m kinda looking forward to cooking with the other girls, especially with Kirumi!” Tsumugi added as she headed to the kitchen as well.

With nothing else to do, Kaede followed everyone else into the kitchen. When she pushed the swinging door open, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The counters had all different kinds of ingredients on them neatly arranged and sitting in bowls and cups. Not only that, but there were pineapples, bananas, peaches, mangoes, dragon fruit, starfruit, and even coconuts sitting around, giving the kitchen a tropical atmosphere from their appearance to their scents. They didn’t even seem out of place, so the crowded counters didn’t give any sign of being messy. Just neatly arranged.

“Wow! Kirumi, you weren’t kidding when you said you made preparations,” Kaede commented in awe.

“This is nothing. It’s just my duty as a maid.”

Being amazed by Kirumi was an understatement. Kirumi not only prepared the kitchen but she also recreated the recipes and even made time to help out Tenko with this get together and even join them. It’s as if she’s a dependable person who could do anything, maid or not. All things considered, being an Ultimate Maid almost meant that you were good at everything. Needless to say, Kirumi’s talent was surely an overpowered talent.

“Alright! Let’s get started! What should we make first?” Tenko asked, showing the magazine page to the rest of the girls. Kaede gazed at all the delicious looking desserts showcased.

“Hmm... the 'Passion Parfait' looks yummy,” Kaede pointed out, looking at the dessert which had colorful layers of cream and delicious fruits which were cut up into cute shapes such as stars and hearts. The fact that they would actually make these desserts into a reality almost made it difficult for the pianist to contain her excitement.

“This recipe?... Very well... then allow me to make the following preparations.”

Kirumi walked to the counter and pulled out all the different ingredients needed to make the sweet. Seeing all the different tropical fruits made Kaede’s mouth water. Kiwis, pineapple, mangoes, peaches, and strawberries were piling on the table as Kirumi laid out the different knives, measuring cups, and cutting boards. Already, Kaede was eager to start making it and soon unashamedly eat it.

Kaede and Tsumugi decided to put themselves in charge of cutting the fruits into different shapes, with Tenko mixing the cream and Kirumi is in charge of prepping and keeping the area clean.

Already the girl were bonding over how wonderful looking the dessert will look and how excited they were to try them all.

“Oh my god! Tsumugi! Your cut up fruits are so cute!” Kaede gushed as she looked over Tsumugi’s shoulders to admire her work.

“Oh this? It’s not that impressive. I guess working on making my outfits helped with my dexterity and craft. I’m sure Kirumi could do it perfectly,” Tsumugi humbly replied.

“Are you kidding Kaede?!” Tenko exclaimed who turned out to be listening in on their conversation as she began excitedly mixing the sugar and cream together. “With your piano playing skills, you’re managing to make the cutest cut up fruit!” Little did she know that her fast stirring skills were starting to cause the cream to spill over and scatter onto the already cut up fruit.

“T-Tenko! You’re getting the cream all over the fruit!” Tsumugi warned.

“Slow down Tenko!” Kaede chuckled, amused by the Aikido Master’s enthusiasm.

Tenko quickly slowed down her pace and the cream began to calm down as it stopped splashing around. Kirumi looked over to check on the girls’ progress. Based on the small smile that appeared across her face, Kaede assumed she was please with the result so far.

“You are all doing very well.”

“Thanks Kirumi! But it’s thanks to you that this is all possible!” Tenko thanked.

Kirumi then pulled her finger to her chin as she began to ponder.

“After we’re finished making this dessert, what should attempt to make next?”

Tenko made her way over to the already opened magazine as she observed the different pictures of the cute desserts.

“Ooh! What about this one?!” Tenko exclaimed as she brought the magazine over to everyone else, one hand holding and pointing to the dessert and the other arm wrapped around the bowl. Tenko was pointing to a fruit platter consisting of mangoes, pineapples, and peaches which were sitting in what looked like some sort of carbonated drink. Based on its arrangement, it looked like a beach at sunset.

“’Sunny Beach Oasis?’ Uh, doesn’t it say that it uses alcohol?” Tsumugi pointed out, reading the label beneath the dessert’s name

Kirumi curtsied, “Do not worry, the recipe I’ve recreated has been replaced with cider than a alcohol.”

Tenko gave out a cheer, pleased to hear that they can make this treat a reality as she placed the magazine back down and continued mixing energetically.

Kaede started cutting the kiwis into stars as Tsumugi was cutting mangoes into tiny cute cubes and flowers.

“I’ve heard of an interesting technique where people put multiple grapes on a single toothpick to add to the fruit aesthetic,” Tsumugi added, not taking her eyes off the fruit she was chopping.

“OOOH! Can we do that Kirumi? Please!” Tenko begged excitedly.

Kirumi only chuckled as she grabbed the bowl of purple and green grapes and placed it on the table. “Fortunately I’ve already procured the grapes for the task.”

Tenko set the bowl of now finished cream mix and started plucking off the grapes and sticking them into each individual toothpick. She was already grinning widely as she began doing her little task. Kaede was pleased with this outcome. Even though, it was only just the four of them, just spending time with the others was already doing wonders for her mind. Doing something simple as hanging out with other girls and making fruit desserts together was something Kaede never really did before. Hell, she never hung out with any other girls like this before.

It was really nice. Doing something enjoyable and girly like this helped keep her mind off the killing game and the current motive. At least, it kept all the negative thoughts away.

“Alright! Are we done with making the 'Passion Parfait?' Because I wanna make that ‘Sunny Beach Oasis’ dessert!” Tenko cheered.

“I think so, all we need to do is to put the cream and fruit in a glass and chill them in the refrigerator,” Kirumi explained.

“Yay! Then let’s get started!” Tenko stated bringing out more fruit and laying them right on the table for Kaede and Tsumugi to cut.

“Alright! I’ll try cutting them into cute dog and cat shapes!” Kaede grinned as Tsumugi started doing the same. Everyone began working hard but happily.

 

...

 

Everyone had a great time making sweets in the kitchen. Tenko was exuberant with the outcome with the mountains of desserts they managed to make. Of course, Kirumi had to remind everyone that eating too many sweets at once, even if it was fruit, was unhealthy. So they had to put the rest of the desserts in the fridge. Kaede didn’t really mind though. It was probably for the best considering that eating sweets would make her fat. And she thought it would be a good opportunity to share everyone the desserts they made rather than eat it themselves.

Either way, Kaede had a great time bonding with everyone. Kaede and Tsumugi were complimenting their cutting technique and the cute shapes they both managed to make. Kaede even managed to bond with Kirumi over things like the kinds of things liked Kirumi cooked as a maid and even what kind of foods she liked, and Kirumi praised Kaede of her cooking skills despite her not an expert in the kitchen.

In the end, it turned out to be a wonderful bonding experience for everyone.

_I still have a lot of free time left. What should I do with it?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to do something cute so why not have my favorite Danganronpa girls make sweet, fruity treats together.
> 
> I honestly wish I had the time and skill to make fruit parfaits and cut cute shapes... ^^'
> 
> Oh well.


	13. Chapter 13

Kaede spent most of her free time with the others from the morning meeting before returning to her own room. Kaede figured that if she tried to spend her time with the people who wanted to work alone, it’ll end up being fruitless considering they had their own beliefs and they don’t trust her. If she tried to overstep her boundaries, then the chances of them listening to her and the others could grow even slimmer.

But Kaede did not want to give up just yet. There had to be something, anything, that could help get through to everyone that cooperation is the key to stopping Monokuma and that there is a way to escape somehow.

Of course, it was easier said than done. Everyone had their own reasons to not cooperate. It would be hard to accommodate to everyone’s needs. Kaede wondered how she and her friends would be able accomplish this.

Kaede let the back of her head hit the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. The only thing she could do for now was to prevent anyone from getting their motive video and prevent them from bringing any harm to anyone. She wished she could do more though.

Kaede turned her head to look at the clock sitting on the nightstand. The digital clock read 8:54 pm. Kaede realized that it wouldn’t be long before the promised piano lessons with Shuichi began. She quickly sat up and jumped out of bed, making her way out of the dorm building and to the her lab in the academy. She was happy that she has at least one thing she could look forward to. But as she entered inside the academy, she could feel the anxiety shivering through her body. It felt like they didn’t deserve to relax when there was a huge situation going on.

No, Kaede shouldn’t think like of this. These piano lessons were good for both Shuichi and Kaede. It was the best thing for them. The one thing they both needed was a bit of a break.

So Kaede quickly made her way up the stairs and to her lab once again. She smiled as she saw same old grand piano bathed in moonlight and the CDs still sitting in their tranquil atmosphere. Kaede made her way to the back shelves to pick out some beginner scores that Shuichi could practice on. Kaede skimmed through the sheets. Considering Shuichi already picked up the cues and positioning of the hands, Kaede had confidence that he could play something simple yet challenging. Not to mention, Kaede felt like it would be an insult to pick out something so easy to play like ‘Ode to Joy’ or anything like that, considering how quickly but attentive he was to learning. Kaede decided to pick out ‘Fur Elise’ and ‘Heart and Soul’ for him to play.

As she arranged the scores on the piano, the door creaked open. Kaede looked up and saw that it was none other than the detective himself.

“Hey Shuichi! Right on time!” Kaede greeted cheerfully as she quickly tapped the papers together so they didn’t look disorganized.

“Well, I don’t want to be late for lessons when I promised to attend them.”

Shuichi shut the door and walked over to the other side of the piano where Kaede was, watching her in fascination as she took great care of her piano. Shuichi continued to watch her as she stepped over the seat and sat down on one side of it.

“Today, I thought I could teach you how to play a piece where you have each hand play a different melody,” she explained as she made herself comfortable.

Kaede looked behind her to see Shuichi with his lips pursed, trying his best to understand but was having difficulty understanding her explanation. Kaede could only laugh at Shuichi’s attempt to understand.

“Let me show you.”

Kaede’s fingers then raced over the keys as she played ‘Fur Elise’ at a calm tempo. Her left hand was holding the different lower notes as her right hand moved back an fourth between the higher and lower notes. Her fingers looked like they were running across the keys. At this pace, she quickly finished the piece. She looked back at Shuichi.

“What I mean is one hand plays the treble cleft while the other plays the bass cleft,” she concluded.

Shuichi nodded, but still remained standing. Looking closely, Kaede could see his eyes swimming with nervousness. Kaede gave him a reassuring smile.

“Don’t give me that look Shuichi! You’ll be fine. I saw how much progress you made the first day and I was impressed! You’re definitely ready!”

Shuichi let out a relieved sigh, letting his stiff body relax. He made his way to the piano and took a seat beside her. He let his fingers relax over the keys.

“Alright Shuichi! I have the score for you right here! All you need to do is read it and play it!” she instructed, as she pointed out the score ‘Heart and Soul’ in front of him.

Shuichi thoroughly read over the score as he let his left hand play the base part. After studying it while repeatedly playing the bass, he let his right hand hover over as he struggled to play the treble cleft part. Of course, having one hand play one part of the music and the other play an entirely different part proved to be a bit of a difficult task for the detective. Some parts, the treble part would play faster than the bass part and vice versa. Other times, he would concentrate on one part, only to have the other part be absent.

He eventually stopped playing when he realized that he couldn’t get the two parts to synchronize.

“Ah, it seems like I’m starting to hit a weak area,” Shuichi pointed out, letting his hands take a break from playing the piece.

“C’mon now! Don’t get discouraged! The fact that you’re able to play both parts at the same time is impressive by itself!” Kaede encouraged. She clasped her hands together as she continued,

“I remember struggling the first time myself! With a bit of practice, you’ll be able to play anything!”

Shuichi smiled at Kaede’s encouragement, but still had a doubtful look in his eyes. Kaede decided that it was her time to demonstrate her skills. Kaede placed both her hands on the keys.

“Let’s try an easier piece.”

Kaede had her left hand press down on three keys, playing a harmonious moment. After about five seconds, she had her left hand play three different notes. She repeated the same pattern with her left hand while she let her right hand hover over the different keys. Her right hand started tapping over two keys as she let her left hand continue its own melody. It only took a matter of seconds before the room was filled with simple yet pretty music. Kaede looked at Shuichi and saw that he was looking right at her hands as they were playing their own melody. Kaede slowed her tempo until they came to a stop.

“See if you can do that,” she instructed.

“Alright.”

Shuichi let his fingertips hit the cold keys. He let his left hand play the bass melody, slowly letting his hand adapt to the movement. When he felt like it was okay, he had his right fingertips touch the keys. After a moment or two, Shuichi let his right hand start playing. When he played the faster paced part with his right hand, his left hand quickened as well. Then when he tried to slow down one of his hands, the other did too. It took all of Shuichi’s concentration to have each hand go at its own pace. Although sometimes, there were short pauses for each part.

Shuichi let out a exhausted breath as he stopped his fingers from pressing down on the keys.

“This is kinda tough, even though it’s a simple melody,” he commented, awkwardly scratching his head while looking down.

“I guess it can be in a way. But you’ll get the hang of it!”

Kaede stood up from her seat suddenly that Shuichi almost yelped.

“Why don’t we take a break, you’ve been at this for twenty minutes straight!”

Shuichi looked at Kaede with a puzzled look. But decided to take her advice as he removed his hands off the keys and stood up, stretching. He walked over to the window to look out at the night sky. Kaede on the other hand remained standing near the seat as she slid off her backpack as she began rummaging through. She then saw a plastic wrapper in the shape of a bar. She pulled out a granola bar wrapped in silver wrapping.

“Hey, heads up!”

As soon as Kaede said those words, she tossed the bar in Shuichi’s direction. The poor boy however couldn’t react fast enough because as soon as he heard Kaede’s warning, she whipped his head around to see what on earth she was planning. When he faced her, he was greeted with an unopened granola bar hitting his forehead. The object proceeded to fall and collide with the floor. Shuichi rubbed his forehead as he looked down at what Kaede hit him with.

Kaede couldn’t stop the giggling escaping her mouth.

“Sorry about that. But I did warn you,” she defended while laughing.

Shuichi looked frustrated with that, but proceeded to collect the object that hit him. He stood up as he brought it closer to his face for inspection.

“A candy bar?” Shuichi questioned.

“A granola bar, actually,” Kaede corrected as she sat back down. “I thought you’d like a snack while we have our break.”

Shuichi smiled, clearly grateful for Kaede’s consideration.

“Thanks, Kaede,” he replied as he began peeling off the wrapping and took a bite out of the treat.

“Surprisingly, this is the type that I like,” he commented as he took another bite. Kaede wondered what he meant, but her questions were answered as he continued, “I don’t normally eat breakfast a lot, so normally I just eat on the go. I do it a lot at home...”

Shuichi grew quiet at those last words, looking down at his snack. It’s clear that he wanted to escape this prison of a school and return home. After all, he was probably worried about his uncle back at home. Who knows how worried his family is.

“Hey, don’t worry Shuichi. We’ll find a way to get out of here, okay?” Kaede attempted to reassure. Shuichi only took another bite of his granola bar, not bothering to reply. Shuichi seemed so lost in thought.

She couldn’t blame him though. Not only was he kidnapped from his home and was trapped in a bizarre place. He was forced into a situation along with fifteen other students in a ‘kill or be killed’ situation. Not only that, but that infernal bear was not making it any easier with his morbid rules, his attitude, and his motives. Everything Monokuma was trying to do lead the students closer to the urge to kill one another. This would cause anyone to immediately distrust one another.

Kaede wanted to relax somehow too. But the thought of Maki’s motive video came into her mind. She was scarred of having an assassin in their group. She could attack the anyone anytime she wanted and probably pull off the perfect crime too. But the true question was if Maki was really a threat or not and how to deal with her. Kaede looked at Shuichi, who looked like he was in his own head right now.

What was she supposed to do? She wanted to warn Shuichi about Maki more than anything. But was that really the right call? If Shuichi knew, it could put him in some sort of danger for knowing. Not the danger of Maki possibly threatening him but also what it will do to his mind. Kaede knew that he was someone where once he discovered something, he wasn’t the type to let go, even if it would just burden him. 

Shuichi already had so much on his platter. The only thing telling him would do was bring unnecessary panic. But Kaede agreed that even if she decided to not tell Shuichi Maki’s secret, she should at least get his opinion. Shuichi could offer some sort of advice as to how to approach this. Kaede had to pick her words carefully as to not arouse suspicion. Kaede took a small breath.

“Hey Shuichi?”

He glanced at Kaede, who looked at her with curiosity.

“You’re... a ‘detective,’ right?” she asked, using her fingers to air quote the word ‘detective.’ Shuichi just stared blankly at her. His face then changed to a look of disbelief.

“Wh-why did you put the word ‘detective’ in air quotes?” He asked, mimicking Kaede’s air quote finger motion.

“Uh well! Y’know! You don’t seem to like being called a detective... So I thought...” Kaede trailed off as she saw one of Shuichi’s eyebrows raised and his arms crossed. The silence was brief and made Kaede sighed.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you like that... But I really do need your opinion.”

Apparently, telling Shuichi that she needed his help was the fastest way to get his attention and disregard anything else. His face changed to a more open expression as he allowed him to uncross his arms, letting Kaede know just from his body language that he was ready to help.

Kaede was hesitant to ask, but she knew she needed Shuichi’s input. He already proved how helpful his insight was. He provided a lot of logical input that Kaede would have overlooked.

“So I was wondering...” Kaede scratched the back of her head. “What are your thoughts... on people who do bad things?”

Shuichi looked owlishly at her. It looked like he was in of anguish and shock. He looked away, trying to search for an answer. Kaede wondered if she went a bit too far with her question. After all, he had to go through the traumatic experience of solving that murder case. The culprit killed because the victim was a bad person. Shuichi ended up suffering serious repercussions and blamed himself for it ever since.

“Well...” He breathed out, uncrossing his arms but had his eyes shut. Kaede wondered if Shuichi still had his hat, would he have pulled the brim down to hide his face? It looked like he wanted to avoid that question.

Kaede was about to tell the detective that he didn’t have to answer when finally he spoke.

“From previous cases that I’ve had, including... that one murder case...” He shifted his weight a bit, trying to find the right words. Kaede could tell that he didn’t want to say anything that could probably be triggering, even though they were the only ones in the room. “I can tell you that a person isn’t black or white. Bad people aren’t always completely bad and good people can end up doing bad things too.”

Kaede looked down at her lap where her hands were, thinking about the last thing he said. Kaede thought back to when she attempted murder. Ever since she put the shot put ball in her backpack, she thought at the start that she had become a bad person. But from Shuichi’s experience as a detective, he only saw her as a good person who only made a life threatening mistake.

“We may be Ultimates, but like everyone else, we’re still human. We’re not perfect. Which is why in a killing game situation like this, we don’t know if anyone is willing to do anything bad despite their kind character nor do we know if a person we think is cruel is actually thinking of everyone else,” Shuichi added. He took a seat on one of the shorter shelves, his hand now gripping only the shiny wrapper.

“So... about people who do bad things, what about if they have a chance to change and they refuse it? What’s your opinion of them then?” she asked, hoping she wasn’t forcing the detective into an uncomfortable situation. Shuichi just rested his chin on his hand. He stayed silent for awhile, making Kaede even more anxious to hear his response.

“I guess, that’s when I begin to look into their morals,” he stated simply.

Kaede looked on at him as he proceeded to explain his answer.

“Even if a person is given a chance, it’s sometimes not that simple. I’ve heard of cases where victims have been blackmailed into continuing their crimes or even as simple as to not report to the police. Other times, I’ve heard they do it for the sake of protecting family members. For example, their family could be in debt or were being threatened,” He explained.

Kaede nodded. She suspected as much. Maki didn’t seem like an entirely bad person. Even though she stated that she didn’t like younger kids, it didn’t mean she doesn’t care about them. Even the motive video stated that they were important people to Maki. The entire reason Maki became an assassin was to protect them.

But Kaede still couldn’t get over those cold empty eyes Maki had in the video when she was killing a target or training to kill. Nor could she get over the freezing sensation she felt around her entire body when Maki threatened her from entering her lab. The way Kaede felt small and petrified when she felt the entire room freeze under Maki’s frightening glare made her question Maki.

Was Maki a good person forced to do bad things or was Maki a bad person who does crimes supposedly out of good intentions?

“Is there a reason why you ask?” Shuichi asked, interrupting Kaede’s thoughts. Now Kaede was in a turmoil. The last thing she wanted was to involve Shuichi in this conundrum. Who knows what would happen if Maki found out that not only she knew her secret, but that she told someone else. This would piss off Maki, no doubt and she'd lose any chance of possibly obtaining Maki's trust. Not only that, but Shuichi doesn’t deserve to go through the same problems that Kaede has. So she had no choice but to come up with something on the spot

“It’s just... I’m worried about...” She paused, frantically trying to think of some good excuse that won’t immediately cause some sort of suspicion for the detective.

“...Kokichi...” Kaede managed to say, surprised how convincing that reason sounded, despite knowing herself what a terrible liar she was. She gripped tightly to her skirt. She felt bad about lying to Shuichi, but she pretty much had no choice.

 _No choice..._ Kaede wondered if she was becoming a bad person, just from hiding a big secret from someone who still trusted her dearly.

“I see...” Shuichi replied quietly, looking lost in thought. It looked like he was convinced enough.

“I understand why you’re worried about him. I’m worried too. But as of right now, Kokichi isn’t an immediate threat. From the looks of things, all he wants to do is not cooperate because he thinks that’s a better solution.”

Shuichi looked back at Kaede, “Not that it is. But I don’t think he has anything malicious planned. He may be mischievous, but he also seems aware of everything and retains some sort of caution about our situation.”

Kaede sighed. At least Shuichi agreed that Kokichi wasn’t as bad as he seems. Sure he says a lot of hurtful things, especially about Kaede’s murder attempt in front of everyone, and he lies a lot to the point that it was driving people crazy. But so far, he hasn’t done anything that put anyone’s life in danger. Yet.

“But I do agree that we should keep an eye on him. Seeing how he barely trusts anyone, who knows what he could be planning,” Shuichi quickly added as a way of reassuring that Kaede’s judgment wasn’t entirely wrong either.

Kaede pondered about Kokichi’s position as well as his morals. But now thinking about it, Kaede barely knew anything about Kokichi at all other than the fact that he was a liar and the Ultimate Supreme Leader, so she really wasn’t in the position to make a judgment on Kokichi. Maybe it was best for her to try and find out about Kokichi, just as a friend trying to get to know him. She just wished Kokichi wouldn’t do anything that could bring harm to anyone. Especially the naive Gonta who was right now wrapped around in Kokichi’s finger.

But all Kaede could do was hope. Kokichi wasn’t willing to listen to her due to her previous actions. She couldn’t really blame him. She would probably run from herself too. The best thing she could do was work together with everyone else and prevent any harm from falling onto anyone else.

Kaede just nodded, “Yeah, for now, let’s keep an eye on Kokichi, and everyone else.”

Shuichi nodded as he stood up and threw the now useless wrapper into a waste bin in the corner of the room. But he didn’t throw hard enough as the wrapped up piece of litter bounced only a foot away from the bin.

“Hey, no littering in my lab!” Kaede teased as she laughed. Shuichi awkwardly laughed as she moved over to pick up the balled up wrapper and toss it down into the trash.

Kaede looked up at the ceiling, wondering if there was a way to get through to everyone with words. If she could carry her piano everywhere, she would do a much better job at convincing the others to work together. Kaede looked back at Shuichi, who was already walking back to Kaede, looking like he was ready to resume the lesson. Perhaps Kaede could ask Shuichi to help her convince everyone. After all, he did manage to convince everyone to hold off on the vote and look over the first case one more time. He even managed to convince her that she was still his friend. She wondered how Shuichi does it.

But then again, Shuichi wasn’t the type to confront other people. He was more of a person who acted like a crutch when needed, so Kaede wasn’t sure if Shuichi could convince the others to work together when everyone else had their mind set on doing things by themselves. Asking that from him would just put too much pressure on him.

Perhaps the best case would be to have him come with her and try to talk with everyone else. That way, if Kaede felt like she was up against a wall, she knew that Shuichi would have her back and be ready to grab the baton until she could get back on her feet.

Before long, a ringing echoed in the lab.

Both Kaede and Shuichi looked up to see the monitor flicker on as she saw the same damn cubs on the screen once again. This time however, there was a long, white table before them with multiple bowls of vegetables, spices, and other ingredients. The cubs were also wearing aprons and chef hats. It looked they were planning some sort of weird skit in their announcement as usual.

“Rise and Shine Ursine!”

“IT-IS-NOW-10-PM” Monodam announced.

“So without further ado, it’s time of the Monokubs Cooking Show!” Monosuke cheered.

“Today’s recipe is Honey Sausage Rice bowl!” Monotaro voiced.

The screen then changed to the said recipe. But all Kaede could see was grotesque looking meal that she could never eat. Actually, not even a meal, just complete garbage. You could barely see any rice as it was completely buried in terribly cut up sausage. Not only that, but the entire bowl was literally drowning in a mountainous amount of honey. It was even leaking over the sides.

“It’s a very simple recipe. Just take some rice and cook it in the rice cooker.” Monophanie explained.

“Then once its done, cut up seven sausages, dip them in that there honey, and dump a shit ton on top of the rice,” instructed Monosuke.

“FINALLY-ADD-ABOUT-TWO-CUPS-OF-HONEY-OVER-THE-BOWL. THEN-BONA-FIDE!” Monodam stated.

“This yummy meal is so great that it’s only 2,585 calories! What a shocker!” Monotaro exclaimed.

“But this here meal ain’t for you guys. Monokubs’ specialty only! Monokuma approved!” Monosuke stated.

“Yummy!” Monophanie squeaked.

“Bedtime Ursine!”

The screen flickered off.

What...was THAT?

Kaede continued to stare at the black screen in blasphemy. She knew that the Monokubs were obnoxious, but she just couldn’t even comprehend what she just saw. Why would she even eat THAT? It was disgusting. But moreover, what was the entire point of that... skit? It was just pointless and stupid. Then again, everything that the Monokubs did were to annoy the hell out of everyone. It seemed like the only point of their existence was to just make everyone’s life more inconvenient.

She glanced over her shoulder to get a look at Shuichi. Turns out he was just as disgusted as she was at that entire scene as she could see his teeth clenched and eyes shut in grimace. It looked he wanted to erase what he just saw.

“Let’s just... forget what we just saw,” Kaede suggested.

“Y-yeah....” Shuichi agreed.

In any case, the bell ringing meant that the time was 10 pm. Meaning that it was nighttime, otherwise signaling that their piano lesson was officially over. Kaede stood up and proceeded to collect the paper sheets.

“Well, let’s head back to the dorms,” Kaede said as she walked back to the back of the shelves and gingerly placed the scores back from where they came from.

“Huh?”

Kaede heard Shuichi exclaimed in puzzlement from behind.

“But, we didn’t even get back to playing.”

Kaede turned and smiled.

“Well it won’t do us any good if we just overwork ourselves through the night. Besides it’s my own fault for starting such a long, serious conversation.”

That reason seemed to be enough to convince Shuichi that it wasn’t his fault that they didn’t get much done, piano wise. But once again, Kaede couldn’t help but let her cheeky side get to her.

“Of course, starting tomorrow, we’ll be working on your piano skills for a full hour straight! No breaks!” Kaede announced as she quickly walked passed Shuichi with a cheeky grin on her face.

“Wha- Didn’t you just say that it was your fault that our break ended up taking up most of the time?!” He exclaimed with shock.

Kaede laughed as she quickly as she quickly bounded out the door into the hallway, with Shuichi briskly walking behind her.

 

...

 

Kaede woke up on her side in her dorm bed once again, with slight drool on her cheek. But she didn’t make any effort to attempt to wake up as she pulled the covers over her head to get a couple more minutes of sleep.

After the lesson, Shuichi and Kaede both walked together out the building to their dorms. They didn’t really say much to each other, just walked in silence. But it wasn’t the awkward kind, but rather a calm, reassuring quiet. It was odd that Kaede only knew Shuichi for a couple days. But just being by his side did a lot to bring her comfort. They eventually reached their respective rooms and said good night to each other.

She wriggled around under the covers, embracing the warmth underneath and the warm spot she created on the mattress. She could feel herself going back to sleep.

But her attempt to get more shut eye was in vain as the school bell echoed obnoxiously across her room, ruining any chance of Kaede getting any more sleep. She groaned loudly as she pushed off the covers and rolled her head to the monitor. The screen turned on like she expected. But this time, it only featured Monodam, standing in front of the couch without any of his siblings. Monodam just stood there silently. But eventually, he announced that it was 8 am and that nighttime was over in his usual, monotone voice. He stayed silent some more and then the screen turned black.

Kaede rubbed her crusty eyes open, blinking to adjust to the lights on her ceiling. Yawning, she went through the same laborious task of getting herself out of bed. She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of her bed. She managed to get on her feet and stretched her entire body. She was never much of a morning person since she ends up staying up too late to practice piano. She made a mental note to change that habit by the time she got out of this dreaded school. Ready to greet the day, she headed to the closet containing her never ending supply of uniforms. Changing out of the same old uniform into the same fresh uniform made her feel like she some sort of anime character.

Ignoring this thought, she headed out of her room.

In the dorm building she saw that Tsumugi was still lingering around by the door.

Kaede took the chance to greet the blue-haired girl.

“Good morning, Tsumugi!”

However, upon closer observation, Tsumugi was once again in that same listless pose. Kaede’s smile turned into a small frown. Knowing her, this was one of those times where Kaede couldn’t get through to her unless she decided to do something drastic. Kaede wondered if she was ignoring her on purpose because she might not trust her. Kaede however was in no mood to deal with this in the morning. Especially with the possibility of everyone meeting in the dining hall to discuss the current events. So, Kaede landed her hand on Tsumugi with a resonating ‘thud,’ gripped so tight that it was hurting her hand, and shook Tsumugi.

“HEY TSUMUGI! ARE YOU PLANNING TO COME TO THE DINING HALL?!” Kaede shouted, as she moved Tsumugi’s upper body back and forward in a violent fashion.

“... I think so?” Tsumugi finally responded while being shaken by Kaede, still in her listless pose.

Kaede didn’t waste a second as she pulled her hand off of Tsumugi. Tsumugi finally changed from her listless pose to a more neutral one.

“I was just thinking about a lot of stuff. Including the motive,” she admitted, disregarding the whole ordeal of Kaede shaking her like crazy.

“Yeah... But I think things will somehow work out,” Kaede reassured. But Kaede got was a shrug from the cosplayer.

“Well, I suppose just plainly standing here and thinking won’t do anyone any good, I think I’ll head over and see what’s going on.”

With that, Tsumugi turned on her heels and pushed open the doors. At least Kaede can guarantee that Tsumugi will come to the dining hall. Kaede wondered if everyone else will come. She secretly hoped so, but that was just hoping too much. Kaede decided that the best thing to do now was to head over to the dining hall herself.

As soon as she stepped outside, she was greeted by the misty morning air and gentle sunlight. It worried her that she had gotten used to it now. She wondered how long it would be until everyone could escape. Would they be able to get out? The underground passage was gone and the only guaranteed way to escape was to get away with murder.

Kaede shook the thought out of her head. There was no way anyone would be willing to kill. There was no way she’d let that happen. She made a hard turn left, following the path down to the main building. She decided to head straight inside the academy to see if there was anyone around. When she entered the academy, she saw that there was no one in the main hall. Seeing such empty space made her feel alone. She was always used to seeing other people after all. If felt weird not seeing anyone else other than Tsumugi.

Of course, there’s the chance that everyone was already at the dining hall and she was the only one left. So, she marched quickly to the direction of the dining hall. On the way, she ran into Kiyo, who looked to be lost in thought himself. The way that he had his eyes closed and sounded like he was humming to himself sent chills down Kaede’s spine. Kiyo was still the same creep as always.

“Good morning, Kiyo,” Kaede greeted, attempting to hide the nervousness behind her voice. “Are you alright? Yesterday, you took off to your room.”

“Ah, good morning, Kaede,” He greeted back, eyes now open. “Yes, I am fine. I just needed some time to assess the situation and decide on the best course of action based on my knowledge and judgment.”

Kaede wasn’t sure what to make out of that response. Regardless, Kiyo seemed to have calmed down from the ordeal and would hopefully cooperate with everyone else.

“I’m rather curious as to what events while happen today...” He then placed his hand on his cheek and the other hand around his waist, cocooning himself. “I’m eager to see what different kinds of reactions each person has to show. My, just imagining the results just fills me with excitement!” He cackled.

_Geez! He’s still so creepy!_

“In any case, I shall head over to the dining hall, I will see you there.” With that, Kiyo left Kaede to head over to the dining hall. Kaede decided to safely conclude that for the time being, Kiyo won’t do anything that would harm any of the other students. But she definitely needed to keep an eye on him.

Kaede resumed her walk to the dining hall. After Kiyo, there was nobody else she encountered. She wondered if somehow, with everyone here in the dining hall, they could try once again to convince the others to work together and not look at their motive video rather than separate and risk seeing their motive. Puffing her chest out, she briskly walked to the door and push it open. But it wasn’t anything like she expected.

Instead she saw that there were a few people missing in the room. Maki, Kokichi, Gonta, and Ryoma we’re nowhere to be seen. It seemed that the plan of convincing them to work with everyone else was immediately going down the drain. But at least a couple of the other students who left the dining hall yesterday were now around.

However, Kaede’s eyes were immediately glued to Angie and Himiko. For some reason it looked like they were both meditating as they had their eyes closed and their pointer fingers touching their thumbs. It’s one thing if it was Angie considering she was religious, but with Himiko included Kaede wondered what was going on.

“So, where’s everyone else?” Tsumugi asked, looking around her surroundings. It looked like Kaede wasn’t the only one who noticed the other people’s absence. Of course, after making such a huge spectacle yesterday, there’s no way anyone could forget Kokichi. Not to mention, the effect Kokichi had on everyone else.

“I didn’t see Kokichi or Gonta anywhere this morning. But I think it’s most likely that they’re together,” Keebo addressed.

“I didn’t see Maki this morning either. Most likely she’s at her lab again,” Kiyo added. Kaede wouldn’t be surprised to find Maki guarding her lab again.

“Why the fuck would that bitch hole herself up in her lab!” Miu barked, clearly irritated.

Tenko was the first to offer a suggestion.

“Maybe she has a bunch of kids in there that she’s secretly taking care of!”

 _Yeah... not likely..._ Kaede thought. Knowing that Maki wasn’t into caring for kids, that idea was thrown out the window.

“What about Ryoma?” Kaede asked, deciding that it was best to change the topic. “Has anyone seen him?”

Shuichi raised his hand. “I saw him this morning. But he stated that he had no interest in joining us for breakfast.”

Kaede thought at Shuichi’s information. No doubt it was because he wanted to see his motive video. But because the majority refused to return the motive videos to their true owners, Ryoma probably wanted nothing to do with them and decided to act on his own. This upset Kaede as she clung onto her hanging arm.

“Ugh, well he shouldn’t join us until he’s thought everything through... I mean seeing our motives? What the hell?!” Kaito exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and then squeezing the bridge of his nose.

“How did the **famous** Ryoma Hoshi end up like that?”

_Famous?_

Kaede knew that Ryoma was an Ultimate and probably already got a lot of attention because of his talent. But Kaede never thought of Ryoma as famous. Maybe famous from that scandal, but otherwise, before that, he looked like a normal high school student. Maybe he won multiple championships in tennis that earned him his fame and title. That would make the most sense.

“Uh, moreover... what’s going on with those two?” Tenko pointed out, as she further emphasized her point by turning her eyes at the two who were meditating, and pointing at the both of them. It was clear that Tenko showed a lot of concern for Himiko and seeing her behave like this was obviously not normal for this lazy magician.

Kaede made the first move to get some sort of reaction by approaching the small magician. As soon as she was literally right in front of the girl, she bent down and waved her hand across her face, hoping to get some sort of reaction. But, nothing happened as Himiko remained in her same calm pose. Kaede tried to get closer to her face to see if she missed some sort of reaction and moved her hand even faster to the point that she could feel air moving around each other. Yet, Himiko made no reaction. This was clearly worrying. Seeing how Himiko wasn’t reacting to her movements, she decided to use her voice instead.

“Uh, Himiko? Are you okay?” Kaede asked in a concerned tone.

“Hush Kaede.”

Kaede looked to find the source of that voice to realize that it was none other than the devout artist herself, still with her eyes closed and in her pose.

“Himiko is praying to Atua.”

Now Kaede was even more confused. Praying to Atua? Himiko? No, there has to be something else to this. Himiko was probably just sleeping while standing. She wasn’t the type to simply become religious the next day. Especially considering how lazy she was.

“Uh okay...” Kaede quickly turned to Himiko, who was still supposedly ‘praying.’ Kaede cleared her throat. “Himiko? What are you really doing?” Kaede hoped she’d find the real answer. Maybe she was just really lost in thought or something?

“I’m praying to Atua,” responded Himiko.

Okay, now Kaede had no idea how to proceed with this. If Himiko was telling the truth, what exactly caused her to behave like this?

“WHAT?! Angie brainwashed Himiko!” Tenko panicked, covering her mouth in shock. Kaede skeptically looked at Tenko, who was clearly panicking over Himiko, and then back at Himiko who continued to pray to Angie’s god. Did Angie really convert Himiko somehow? It wasn’t long before Tenko recollected herself and marched straight to the artist. She point straight at the girl.

“Angie! I demand you to stop hypnotizing Himiko this instant! This is not right!” Tenko demanded loudly.

Angie did not seem fazed by Tenko suddenly making these demands to the girl. However, Himiko started growing agitated at all the noise that Tenko was making with her loud voice as her face started scrunching.

“Angie’s not hypnotizing me,” she stated, still upset over all the yelling. “She’s dehypnotizing me. She showed me that the world that I was seeing was just one big illusion.”

At this point, Himiko opened her eyes, so she could see and clearly make her point. “Angie taught me that by praying to Atua, I can progress through Atua’s guidance.”

If the panic on Tenko’s face wasn't apparent enough, there was no way anyone could ignore the facts now as paranoia was starting to show on the Aikido master’s face. She now had her attention away from Angie and now completely on Himiko. From the looks of it, asking Angie to stop whatever she was doing to Himiko was pointless as the damage was already done. Tenko grabbed both of Himiko’s shoulder and started shaking her violently.

“Himiko! Come back to us! Listen to my voice and follow it! Whatever you do, don’t head to the light!” Tenko pleaded, hoping to get Himiko to return to her senses. But all it was doing was annoying the Magician as she was trying her best to hold herself together from Tenko’s shaking.

“Uh, Tenko. Himiko’s not dying...” Tsumugi commented when Tenko made the ‘heading to the light’ demand.

“Hmm, so it seems that Himiko has turned to escapism,” Kiyo concluded.

“That unfortunately seems to be the case,” agreed Kirumi who looked lost herself.

“Huh? It’s not escapism. Himiko has just abandoned reality to seek Atua,” Angie simply explained.

Shuichi just sighed at Angie’s explanation as he rested his forehead on his palm.

“Angie, that’s pretty much what escapism is.”

Angie then smiled as she realized that what the meaning of escapism was, not really acknowledging her mistake.

“In any case, Tenko, you should probably stop shaking Himiko. She’s starting to look a little sick,” Keebo informed.

Kaede took another look at Himiko and realized Keebo was right. Himiko was already staring to look green around the gills. It looked like she was about to throw up any second if this kept up. Tenko on the other hand, didn’t seem to have heard Keebo as she continued to try and shake Himiko back to her senses. With no other option left, Kaede had no choice but to step in to separate the two. Kaede grabbed both Tenko’s and Himiko’s shoulders and started pushing them apart in hopes of prying the two away.

With enough force, Kaede finally managed to pull Tenko off of Himiko. Kaede quickly moved to grab both of Tenko’s shoulders to prevent her from getting close to Himiko again. Himiko on the other hand, wobbled backwards and collapsed on a chair behind her, attempting to recover from her current dizziness. Angie calmly came over to her side, rubbing her back. This didn’t do anything to calm Tenko’s overwhelming emotions. Quite the contrary in fact. Kaede wasn’t sure how long she could hold on, but she tightened her grip as it was the only thing she could do right now.

“Tenko! I know you’re worried, but you need to calm down! We need to think rationally!” Kaede tried to reason, hoping that somehow, those words would get through to her. But Tenko was still in panic mode. She was moving in such a frenzy that Kaede had trouble keeping her in place. Kaede wondered if Tenko would next use her Neo-Aikido on her, even though she was a girl. Luckily for Kaede, who wasn’t sure how long she could hold on to Tenko, Kaito came to her aid as he held tight to her waist. This was a big help to Kaede.

“Kaede’s right, Tenko! First thing you gotta do is chill! Otherwise, Himiko won’t listen to you or anyone!”

Once again, Kaito was the one who managed to get through as Tenko froze from her frantic frenzy, finally starting to calm down. Kaede slowly stated to loosen her grip around both of Tenko’s shoulders as Kaito began pulling his arms away from Tenko’s waist. Kaede was relieved to know that Tenko wasn’t gonna go into another frenzy as she stood still without Kaede or Kaito’s intervention.

“Nyeh... that was awful...” Himiko complained. “That just reminded me of this entire nightmare that we’re in. I don’t wanna deal with it.” She brushed hair behind her ear, still showing signs of feeling dizzy.

Angie patted Himiko on the head. “There, there Himiko,” Angie comforted. Still wearing that same smile, she moved her arms around Himiko’s tiny torso and pulled her closer to her. Himiko’s head was now resting against Angie’s chest.

“Nyeh?”

“I understand how you feel Himiko.” Angie held her head close to her heart, gently patting her head, as Himiko rested her head against her with confusion on her face. “You’re not actually scared. You’re just lonely. You feel anxious, frustrated, and worried, but you have no one to confide to...” Angie then proceeded to rub her cheek against the top of Himiko’s head. “But you are not alone. I know a certain handsome god who will always watch over you.”

“A... handsome god?”

Angie pulled away from Himiko to give her space. As soon as she did, Himiko resumed with praying to the deity.

“What a miracle... Now I have nothing more fear...” Himiko whispered. This did not bode well with the Ultimate Aikido Master.

“Himiko! You like handsome gods! Why not me?!” Tenko wailed, now in her fighting pose. But it’s not like she had to do any actual fighting at this point.

Finally wearing out her patience, Himiko stopped staying in her prayer pose and proceeded to move the hat over her eyes. All while still glaring at Tenko.

“You’re not... playing for the other team are you,” Himiko brooded.

This seemed to have struck some sort of chord with Tenko. Because all of a sudden, beads of sweat started rolling down her face and her eyes were dancing around trying to find some sort of response for that.

“Wha-What?! N-No!... O-Of course not...” Tenko stammered.

“Kehehe. Impressive! Angie’s religion is certainly something one should not mess with,” Kiyo commented, clearly more impressed than worried about the result. This is like watching Angie convert people to join some sort of cult.

“A-Anyway Angie. Don’t you think you should stop what you’re doing? I don’t this will be good for Himiko in the end,” Kaede tried to reason.

It was nice that Angie was looking out for Himiko. But this was clearly not the way to go about it. Just choosing to ignore the situation will not do anyone any good.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Angie asked as she bobbed her head left and right.

Just as Kaede was about to explain, Angie quickly interrupted by explaining her reason.

“You insist that we need to escape this place. But I don’t see any reason to.”

Angie resumed in her prayer pose again along with Himiko.

“There is no dangers in here. In fact, it may be safer than the outside world. We have shelter, delicious food, and wonderful friends!”

“Are you saying that we should just live here?!” Keebo exclaimed.

Angie nodded, “Atua says that you are all fueled by greed. That greed is coming from your desire to leave this blessed place.” Angie opened her eyes, but continued to look up, as if she knows that her god is somewhere up there, watching over all of them. “Which is why we must make this place into a perfect utopia for us to stay in!” She turned to Himiko. “Tell them, Himiko!”

Himiko proceeded to open her eyes as she then jumped for joy!

“Alright. Both Atua and I are proud to announce that Himiko’s Amazing Magic Show is scheduled to come tomorrow morning!” Himiko announced.

“A-A magic show?” Tsumugi repeated as an attempt to try and fathom the idea.

“Nya-ha-ha! That’s right! Atua suggested that the first step was to bring happiness. And what better way to do that than for Himiko to host the magic show?” said Angie.

“Nyeh, tomorrow morning after the announcement, make sure to come to the gym to get a chance to see the exclusive magic show that I’ll have set up for you!” Himiko announce, but still kept her lazy, monotone voice.

Angie then grabbed Himiko’s hand as she proceeded to the exit to the dining hall. “Well, Himiko and I have preparations to make. Bye-onara!”

With that, Angie left with Himiko trailing behind. All Kaede could do was watch the duo leave. Kaede knows that she should be happy that Angie and Himiko were going through the effort to try and cheer up everyone. Yet, Kaede couldn’t really exactly relax. After seeing Himiko change just from suddenly becoming devout to Angie’s god, she couldn’t help worry for her. It just looked as if this magic show that Himiko was planning on hosting was another method of escapism. Not just for Himiko, but for everyone else in general.

Nervously, Kaede looked at Shuichi. She was hoping that somehow she was just overthinking things. Maybe both Angie and Himiko were doing this magic show purely to make everyone feel better. Maybe this was their own way to unite everyone. It wasn’t some sort of desperation act to just run away from everything or attempt to change anything.

But Kaede’s thoughts started to drown in anguish as all she saw in Shuichi’s face was just pure concern and worry as to what was going to happen.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know about you guys, but when I try to play piano, I always struggle with having both my hands play separate parts. It sucks...
> 
> Anyway, we're finally gonna make progress with Chapter 2. The next chapter will probably be the infamous 'Insect Meet and Greet.' Wink!


	14. Chapter 14

All everyone did was watch the doors slowly close shut as Himiko and Angie were now gone, leaving the rest of them to just absorb everything that just happened. Kaede didn’t really know how to react to the entire situation since everyone came to the same conclusion that she had. But the silence ended when Keebo decided to be the first to speak his thoughts.

“Performing a magic show at a time like this just seems to be an illogical solution.”

Keebo speaking his mind was like a cue to break the silence because pretty soon, others began to voice their own opinion too.

“Yeah, I don’t give a shit about that dumb magic show,” Miu complained, yet she was trembling and she had to bite the bottom of her lip to stop it from quivering. It didn’t look like Miu was cowering. Rather, it looked like she was trying to contain her excitement.

“You look like you’re excited about it though,” Tsumugi commented, resting her cheek on her hand, contemplating.

Tenko on the other hand was more focused on what transpired with Himiko. “What happened to you, Himiko?” she muttered, her eyes still glued to the door that Angie and Himiko just left through.

“Kehehe... Faith as intense as that can be quite terrifying,” Kiyo informed. Kaede nodded in agreement.

“However, this performance does not seem to involve the current motive. So for now, I suggest we do not worry too much about it,” Kirumi suggested. She then proceeded to return to the kitchen and bring out the remaining dishes for the other students.

“Still, we shouldn’t just take these motives lightly. Monokuma wouldn’t just hand these out for just no reason,” cautioned Keebo.

“You mean, could the others be exchanging their motive videos as we speak?” Tsumugi voiced.

Kaede was now deeply concerned. Did Ryoma, Gonta, and Kokichi somehow manage to already get their own motive videos? But her worries were alleviated when Shuichi spoke up.

“I don’t think that’s the case. The chances of those three having each other’s motive video are pretty slim. So I don’t think we need to worry about them getting their hands on their own videos.”

At that moment, Kaito slapped the detective’s back. It was probably meant to be a supportive pat on the back. But he swung a bit too hard as the detective yelped and had to take a step forward to prevent himself from falling forward.

“Way to go, Shuichi! That’s the Ultimate Detective for you!” he complimented and then proceeded to head lock the detective as he rubbed his head. Although, Shuichi didn’t really seem to mind as he didn’t struggle or anything. Although, looking closely, it looked like he didn’t want anyone to notice that he was embarrassed by Kaito’s compliment.

“I guess the best thing we can do is wait then?” Tsumugi suggested. She didn’t look like she wanted to follow through with that suggestion though.

“For the time being, let’s try and keep an eye on things. We should make sure that no one else is going to do anything... reckless,” Kaede advised, trying to pick the right words to make sure not to arouse suspicion around her classmates.

Kirumi nodded as she brought out the last dishes. “I agree with Kaede. For now, let us have breakfast.” She gestured to the table that had different dishes made for each of the student’s preferences.

Kaede looked back at the doors one last time as some of the other students, slowly but without much hesitation, headed to the table to eat the meals Kirumi kindly made for each of them. As of now, Himiko and Angie didn’t look like they were planning anything bad. Angie seemed like a good person at heart, despite her... foreign traditions. And Himiko, despite being a lazy magician, still seemed to care. Of course, Kaede couldn’t help but think back to what Shuichi said. Good people can end up doing bad things, of their own will or not.

While thinking, she could overhear Kirumi saying mention that she would make sure to deliver breakfast to those not present. But Kaito interrupted by saying that he’d go ahead and eat their portions. Shuichi made sure to remind him not to push himself.

Being the last one to sit down, she snagged a seat next to Shuichi. She looked down at her healthy looking meal, sunny side-up eggs with toast covered in marmalade jam. Her favorite. It was impressive that Kirumi managed to memorize Kaede’s favorite food among all the other students. However, she made no attempt to eat it, but instead, contemplated on what she should do. Kaede didn’t want to doubt Angie and Himiko. They both seemed like trustworthy people and she really did want to believe them and that they were doing this to help everyone in this stressful situation. But hosting a magic show at a time like this was suspicious, no matter how she looked at it.

She had to decide on her actions. She needed to be sure that what they were arranging wouldn’t put anyone in danger.

 

...

 

Kaede was the last one to finish breakfast. She kept trying to decide of what course of action she should take. But no matter what kind of solutions she kept thinking of, the one that stayed in her mind was seeing what Himiko and Angie were planning. She had to at least make sure there weren’t gonna do any harm. It didn’t seem likely, but she had to be absolutely sure. She pushed away from the table, her chair scraping along with her while making a dragging sound. Kirumi popped her head of the kitchen, possibly from hearing the dragging sound from the chair.

“Kaede, are you finished?” Kirumi asked. Kaede could pick up concern lacing her words as Kirumi asked her. She wondered what caused Kirumi to sound so worried. Kaede looked at the table and realized that she barely even touched her food. Kaede bit her tongue. Kirumi went through the effort of making everyone’s favorite breakfast, and Kaede didn’t even bother to eat it. She couldn’t help it though. Her mind was just so entangled with the events of today. There was no way she could get a piece of mind until she was absolutely sure of Himiko and Angie.

“Yeah, I’m sorry Kirumi,” Kaede apologized. “I guess I’m just not that hungry.”

Kirumi simply shook her head. “Do not worry, Kaede. Although it does worry me that you lost your appetite. Is there anything I can do to relieve you of your stress? I can provide you with some of my massages,” she quickly suggested.

“Uh, no that’s alright,” Kaede reassured, questioning the offered massages that came out of nowhere. Just to give Kirumi her own piece of mind, she took the toast with her. She took a bite out of the crispy yet sweet toast as she watched Kirumi take her dish away to the kitchen. Giving herself a quick slap on the cheeks, she made her way out of the dining hall, toast in hand.

As she exited the doors, she made a right while taking another bite of her toast. She began to wonder how she’d get close to the devout two without making herself look suspicious. Almost as if her prayers had been answered, she nearly bumped into Kaito. She found herself jumping backwards as Kaito himself looked surprised. But it didn’t take long for him to recover.

“Hey Kaede! Sorry ‘bout that! Just on my way to Himiko’s lab,” he explained.

This caught Kaede’s attention. What business did Kaito have in Himiko’s lab?

“Himiko’s lab?”

Kaito nodded. “Yep. They asked me if I could help move some stuff. Gonta’s unavailable so all that’s left is me to do the heavy lifting.”

At that moment, there was a spark in her mind. Volunteering to help set up might be the best method of approach to get close to the two of them without making it seem like she was suspicious of either of the two. Kaede gave herself a mental high five for coming up with this perfect crime. Kaede saw the opportunity before her and offered Kaito her help to carry the said equipment to the gymnasium. Kaito beamed when Kaede offered. He punched his fists together.

“Really?! Thanks Kaede! This’ll be a huge help!”

Kaito motioned her to follow him as she marched forward. Not wanting to disappoint him, she followed him to Himiko’s lab. Kaede really struck luck when she just happened to run into Kaito and learn that he was helping out. The stars were aligning in her favor today. Here she was, following Kaito straight to Himiko’s lab door. Kaede looked at Kaito from behind. Initially, Kaede thought he was just one of those stereotypical jock guys who weren’t that smart and had their heads in the clouds as they dreamt of crazy things. But Kaito wasn’t like that. Sure there were times where he wasn’t on the same page as her or Shuichi, but he wasn’t dumb. He was aware of the situation they are in and is choosing to take action to protect his friends. Not to mention, Kaito really believed in his friends. Even during the trial when her guilt seemed undeniable, he still wanted to reach out to her and everyone just because he believed she wasn’t the culprit. Now even, Kaito was one of the few people who still openly believed she was still trustworthy. The fact that he was letting her help was proof itself.

All in all, Kaito was truly a strong willed and genuinely good person. Kaede knew that if she still had Kaito’s trust, then the least she could do is trust in him too. It wasn’t long before Kaito and Kaede found themselves in front of the Himiko’s lab door.

“Alright! We’re here!” Kaito announced as he wrapped his hands around the knob. “By the way, Kaede. Thanks again for helping out! This is a huge help.”

“No problem, Kaito,” Kaede replied with a smile.

As the stepped inside, Kaede still saw the same room crowded with tools and props to perform a perfect magic show. She looked around, wondering what it was they needed to bring to the gym.

Kaede looked to Kaito.

“So what is it exactly that we need to bring?” She asked him.

“Uh, Angie said that she wanted us to bring a some sort of light blue standing box and a black case of some sort,” he answered as he looked past all the clutter to see if he could find any of the said items. Kaede looked around with him and spotted something large and light blue in the corner of the room. Kaede pointed it out.

“Is that it?”

Kaito followed to where she was pointing at and spotted the said object.

“Yeah! I think that’s it!” He exclaimed and patted Kaede on the shoulder. “Way to go, Kaede! I should make you my honorary sidekick.”

Kaede chuckled awkwardly as she rose an eyebrow. “What are you saying?”

Kaito just laughed it off as he made his way over the clutter to reach the large box covered with other objects. When he tried to move it, this caused other objects such as some wands and boxes of decks of cards that were sitting on top of the box to fall on top of him. This caused Kaito to lose his balance from the shock of the sudden falling objects and fall backwards into the mess. Kaito groaned loudly and he cursed as Kaede covered her mouth, trying her best to muffle her laughter. But Kaito probably heard her as he turned with a frustrated face. But he just decided to ignore it as he sighed and brushed off the lone cards that were sitting on his shoulders.

“Geez! This room is so messy,” he grumbled. He called out to Kaede, “Why don’t you see if you can find that black case?”

Kaede said that she would as she began searching around the room for the black case as Kaito had to go through the tedious task of cleaning up the mess he just made and remove any other objects off the box. Kaede skimmed around the room, noting all of the knickknacks and gimmicks that Himiko had. Kaede really was curious to see if Himiko could actually use all these things. If it were up to her, she’d want to see every trick Himiko could perform. Her thoughts were interrupted when something caught her eye. She didn’t notice it the first time but behind the bird cage which was covered with a red sheet, she swore she saw some oddly shaped object crammed behind it.

Curiosity was overwhelming her as Kaede decided to see what it was that was right behind her than stay focused. She carefully slid the cage away as to not disturb the doves living there. The birds started cooing loudly at the movement, but they didn’t seem scared. As she managed to create enough space to get a proper grip on the mysterious object, she slid it out and plopped it on the ground. Much to her surprise, it turned out to be the black case she was looking for.

“Well, that was easy,” Kaede said to herself. But now she was more curious as to what was inside the case. Unable to contain her curiosity, she popped open both latches and pulled the case open. Almost immediately, Kaede yelped as she felt herself falling backwards. She had to catch herself with her hands. Inside the case were swords. Not the fake rubber sword props you would find in a party store. But real, genuine swords that have a point and a shining gleam. She felt her teeth chatter despite her clenching them down together to the point that it started hurting.

Was Angie seriously considering having Himiko perform the show with actual swords?! Even if it was for show, it was way too dangerous. Hell it didn’t matter the reason. Kaede needed to confront Angie about this arrangement.

Kaede kept her eyes glued to the sword filled case as Kaito dragged the box out from the mess and into an open spot in the lab.

“Geez, this place is so messy and cramped. Why couldn’t Monokuma make this room bigger or something,” he complained.

As soon as he laid the large box down on its back, he turned to Kaede.

“Yo Kaede, I got the box? You ready?” He walked over to Kaede who was still staring at the swords. He bent over and look over her shoulder. His eyes widened with excitement. “Whoa! Himiko’s lab is so cool. These swords look so real!”

Kaede just turned to Kaito. He was still marveling at these swords, blissfully unaware that they were actually real. Kaede just sighed as she scratched the back of her neck. It looked like she had to rip off the band-aid.

“Actually, Kaito... they are real.”

Kaede couldn’t help but look at Kaito in the face to see his reaction. At first Kaede saw no change in his expression. This made her wonder if she was too worried over the small details and that he would tell her not to worry. But Kaito’s eyebrows started slowly furrowing, as if processing what Kaede just said. His face slowly changed from his previous excited face to a startled and horrified look.

“Wait, WHAT?! Are you serious?! They’re real?!” he exclaimed, still wearing that same horrified look.

She could clearly see the panic on his face. She wondered what Kaito was thinking right now. He was probably internally panicking too. He quietly cursed as he scratched the back of his head.

“Kaito, I know Himiko and Angie are planning this magic show. But we can’t allow them to use this...” Kaede expressed.

Kaito just mumbled something incoherent that even the musician’s ears couldn’t pick up what Kaito was saying. He just sighed.

“Kaede, I know how you feel. Believe me, I really do. We need to confront Angie and Himiko about this. So let’s just take the stuff and see if we can get an explanation and convince them.”

Kaede was hesitant to continue doing what Angie had asked of them. Especially after finding out. But she nodded anyway. The best thing to do was to see if she could change Angie’s mind. Kaede pulled herself up on her feet as Kaito gave her a reassuring smile. He stepped past her to close the black case and pick it up. He then proceeded to place it on top of the blue box. He moved around behind it.

“In any case, Kaede, gimme a hand, will you?” He asked as he bent over to get ready to pick up the box. Kaede nodded again as she walked over to help him. Kaito proceeded to instruct her to lift up the other end of the box on the count of three to maintain balance so that the case filled with swords won’t fall. Kaede heeded his words as she got her fingers under the larger prop. Kaito knew Kaede was ready for his count as he saw Kaede looked him in the eyes, ready for his cue. He proceeded his count as Kaede gripped tighter. On three, they both lifted the two props up in the air. She had expected them to be heavy. But it turned out to be light. Kaito didn’t hesitate to take the lead as he pulled Kaede along with him as he proceeded to exit through the door he just managed to open with one of his hands.

Kaede followed Kaito’s suit as he maneuvered through the small hallway leading out of Himiko’s lab. She wondered if Kaito could have done all this by himself considering his physique and how easy it is to carry them. As they managed to get to the bigger hallway that would lead to the gym, Kaede decided to strike up a conversation with the astronaut.

“So... a magic show, huh? If we weren’t in this killing game, I could definitely enjoy the Ultimate Magician’s magic show!” Kaede admitted as she mimicked Kaito’s footsteps.

“Same!” Kaito agreed cheerfully. But then glumly sighed. “But it’s thanks to Monokuma, we can’t exactly shake off this paranoia... Damn that bear!”

It was good to know that Kaito wasn’t the only one who thought that. Watching the Ultimate Magician perform was enough to excite anyone. If Kaede managed to ever get out with everyone, the first thing she’d do next to playing piano for everyone as a celebration was have Himiko do another magic show. She didn’t care if she had to do everything in her power to get the lazy magician to perform in front of fifteen people, it would be worth it.

Kaito warned Kaede that they were approaching the gymnasium doors. He pushed the doors open with his feet and made his way through the now open doors. When Kaede entered, she was surprised with how much progress was made. The stage had the headmaster’s podium and table removed, leaving a bit of room. But the stage was decorated with paper chains each a different color and were hanging in front of the stage. Not only that but there were also two colorful signs that had the words ‘The Amazing Himiko’s Magic Show’ on each side of the stage. It looked like Angie was the one who was responsible for the decorations since they looked so artistic.

Angie and Himiko were discussing something on stage but quickly noticed Kaede and Kaito doing the heavy lifting for them.

“Ah! Kaito! You brought it! And you also brought Kaede I see!” she cheered while bobbing her head back and forward. Himiko just looked lazily at them, but Kaede saw a look of distraught in her eyes. Himiko appeared to look nervous. She was giving Kaede a suspicious look. Was it because of Kaede’s sudden appearance. She understood why she felt that way, but it still hurt. Angie disregarded Kaede’s presence and bounded over to the both of them.

“Perfect! Just place those items right on the center of the stage,” she pointed at the stage.

Kaito grunted as he shifted around the box while Kaede tried to maintain balance. Kaito lead the way once again as Kaede carefully followed him again. As they approached the stairs leading up the stage, Kaede lifted the box higher up to make sure that the box wouldn’t tilt and the case wouldn’t slide down toward her. The last thing she needed was to have a case full of swords come crashing down towards her. When Kaito reached the final step, Kaede picked up her pace so she wouldn’t have to hold it up higher than she needed to. It wasn’t long before they were center stage. Kaede and Kaito carefully set them down.

Angie bounded up the stairs, as she watched them work in marvel.

“Nya-ha-ha! Atua thanks you both!”

Kaito stood up and waved his hand, “Don’t worry about it! It was our pleasure.”

Kaede got up, but she needed to confront Angie about what they found.

“Hey Angie, about the equipment. The case happened to have real swords,” Kaede commented.

“Oh yeah! Angie, what’s with the swords?” Kaito questioned as soon as Kaede sparked his memory.

“Why it’s for the magic show, of course!” Angie responded simply. Kaede just shut her eyes. If they wanted answers, they needed to be more specific.

“But Angie, couldn’t you just use fake swords?” Kaede suggested. The least Kaede could do was offer a safer alternative. That way it could decrease any chance of putting anyone in danger.

“Huh? But then the magic show wouldn’t be as exciting. Atua prefers to watch on the edge of his seat after all!” Angie laughed, disregarding Kaede’s concern.

“For god’s sake Angie! This is Himiko’s safety we’re talking about here! Don’t you care about Himiko at all?” Kaito argued. Kaito could pick up traces of anger in his words. She couldn’t blame him. Any moment a friend was putting themselves in danger, he was ready to step in.

“I have to agree with Kaito, Angie. Himiko could easily get hurt or-” Kaede had to pause mid-sentence. She didn’t want to admit that a chance of a murder happening was high. Especially when she wanted to convey how much she believed in the others. “...It’s just too risky.”

Himiko jumped in. “Atua loves risque things though,” Himiko commented as she began to pray to the deity once again.

“Don’t you mean ‘risky?’” Kaede corrected.

Kaito grumbled loudly at Angie’s cheerful stubbornness. “Either way Angie, we can’t agree with you going through with the show like this. Like Kaede said, it’s too dangerous-”

“You doubt my magical abilities?” Himiko asked straightforwardly. Kaede turned and noticed for the first time that Himiko looked serious. A rare sight for the lazy magician. “I’m not called the ‘Ultimate Mage’ for nothing! I have the ability to cast an intangibility spell! And I’ll have you know that’s a level 58 spell!”

Kaede never thought she’d get a magic lecture from her. But nevertheless, Himiko didn’t look like she would be swayed out of the decision.

“But Himiko, don’t think this could hurt you?” Kaede attempted to reason. But Kaede could see that her words were going through one ear out the other.

“No! Because I’ll use magic to protect myself!”

Kaede sighed.

“I can prove to you that it’s safe!” Himiko suddenly marched up to the blue box, positioned it so it was standing, opened it and proceeded to enter inside while shutting the lid behind her. She called out through the box which caused her words to sound muffled. “Alright Angie! Let’s do this just like we discussed.”

Angie laughed as she hopped over to the case and opened the black case with a breeze. She pulled out a sword which, now looking closely, was thin and had a gold hilt. Angie moved to the box.

“All I have to do is strike the box on the side, right?”

Before Himiko could confirm whether or not what Angie was saying was correct or before Kaito and Kaede could do anything, Angie struck the sword through the box. Kaede was horrified to see the sword pop out on the other side of the box. Panic quickly ran all over her body.

“Himiko! Are you alright?!” Kaede screamed.

At first there was no reply which frightened Kaede. Angie acting too rashly may have put Himiko’s life in danger. Kaede was about to push Angie out of the way and pull out the sword to see if Himiko was alright when she heard Himiko’s voice.

“Atua... Give me the power to turn intangible!” Himiko prayed, her words still muffled in the box.

Kaede let out a sigh of relief, her hand resting on her chest. Himiko was alright. Despite Angie’s sudden decision to thrust the sword in without confirmation, Himiko managed to evade that. Guess that was why she was called the Ultimate Magician.

“Himiko. Don’t you think you should say that BEFORE Angie stabs the box?” Kaito grumbled, scratching the back of his head, but worry was clear was on his face.

“Alright! I’m gonna put in the next sword!” Angie informed as she skipped back to the black case and pulled out another sword. She cautiously carried the sword and stabbed the sword through the box. Kaede had to swallow back her fear as another sword entered the box. Kaede again asked if Himiko was okay and Himiko called out to Atua to watch in marvel each time. Although she didn’t respond to Kaede specifically, she at least was glad to know that Himiko was responding, indicating that she was still alright so far. Angie once again went back to the case and pulled out another sword, then marched back to the box to stab it. Kaede once again asked if Himiko was alright, and again, Himiko only responded by communicating to Atua. This became a repeated pattern until Angie struck the box with the eighth sword.

“Okay then! I’m drawing out the swords!” she announced. She hopped over to the sides of the box and proceeded to slowly remove each of the swords. Kaede was surprised that Angie was being so cautious with removing the swords. She expected her to just pull out the swords brazenly and excitedly. But Angie showed signs that she cared for Himiko, so the chances of her doing something reckless that could harm Himiko were pretty low.

Eventually, the last sword was pulled out and set on the ground. When she did, she stood on her toes and reached to the top of the box to pull it off. Kaede didn’t know the top was detachable. As soon as she pulled the top off, she stepped back as all the sides of the box stated falling to the ground. The front, back, left, and right sides of the box collided on the ground, Himiko was left standing on the center, completely unscathed.

“Behold, my amazing powers!” Himiko jumped, her hat flying off and landing perfectly on her hat.

Kaede was impressed. Not only did Himiko manage to perform the trick perfectly, she didn’t even have a single cut on her. There was no doubt in her mind that everyone would love the suspense of this show.

“Holy crap! That was amazing! How did you do that?” He asked enthusiastically.

“It’s magic! That’s how!” she replied excitedly.

Kaede had to admit, she liked the show, but she still couldn’t shake off her worries. There were still so many things that could go wrong.

“I will admit that that was a cool tri- magic. But I’m still worried. There are still so many things that could happen and I’m worried you could end you getting hurt.”

“Don’t worry, Kaede,” Angie interrupted. “Atua is watching over precious Himiko. As long as He’s by her side, no harm shall come to her.”

Kaede had her doubts.

“I just want Himiko to be careful.”

“Atua is watching over me, don’t worry Kaede. I’m a mage and have His help,” Himiko supported. She resumed to praying to the god. Kaede sighed. Trying to convince Himiko to do otherwise doesn’t look like it’ll work with the way Himiko was now devout to Angie’s god.

“At the very least, maybe you could get some sort of lock or combination for the case. I’m worried of a theft or something,” Kaede attempted to convince. If she couldn’t convince them to not use the swords, then the least she could do was to make sure that no one else could get their hands on them.

“Okie-dokie then! I’ll head to the warehouse later!” Angie replied with a gleeful look on her face. It surprised Kaede how quickly she agreed to her conditions. Then again, Angie probably saw no harm in doing that.

“Now Kaede, Kaito.” Angie’s expression started to change from her usual cheery one, to a startling serious one. “Atua says that you must not spoil the show for the rest of the group. If you do...” Angie gave them a sharp stare as she let her bangs dangle, giving her a dark look. “...Atua shall curse you with his unholy wrath on the two of you.”

“C-curse?!” Kaito exclaimed, his face becoming more pale than usual.

“Don’t worry, Angie. We won’t tell. We promise,” Kaede reassured with a smile. “It would spoil the mood if everyone knew.”

“Y-yeah. But make sure to be careful with those swords, Angie. Same with you, Himiko.” Kaito cautioned.

“Nyeh,” Himiko replied nonchalantly.

“Now then, I need you to get a couple more things from Himiko’s lab!” Angie said as she began listing a bunch of other stuff that they needed.

 

...

 

It went without saying that Angie worked the two of them to the bone. Angie had both Kaito and Kaede move back and forth between Himiko’s lab and the gym. They ended up bringing a lot of random props. From the large scale props such as the zig-zag box and bird cages to the smaller items like some deck of cards, a magician’s hat, and a hoop. Kaede could deduce that they were planning on multiple performances. But this left her to wonder what it was they were going to do.

Either way, minus the swords, most of the items Kaito and her brought were harmless. This brought some relief for Kaede. As they brought the last of the requested items, Angie informed them that there were no more objects that they needed anymore and told them that they were no longer needed. Kaede was relieved that she didn’t have to do anymore heavy lifting. Kaito insisted that he could still help out if they still wanted. Kaede couldn’t help but marvel at the astronaut’s stamina. She wondered how rigorous his astronaut training was if he could do all this and still do more with a smile.

Angie reassured them that the only thing that needed to be done was to practice for the show and help add more decorations which Angie already asked Kirumi to help her with.

With now a bunch of free time left, Kaede decided that she’d use the remainder of her time to play even more piano in her lab. So now she found herself sitting in front of her piano with countless piano sheets. She had so many to chose from that having so many options made her so happy. Of course, she played most of these songs on a daily basis so she could just play them straight from her memory.

Stretching out her fingers and giving them a little wiggle, she decided to play Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, the first, second, and third movements. She quietly took a breath as she let her fingers move of their own will as they played the piece. As she let her finger press gently over the keys, she let her thoughts wander. If she had to describe this song in words, it would be having yourself wander in the dark, unsure of where to go. So you just end up wandering in the dark, lost. But then you eventually find the moonlight and let it be your guide to happiness. Then you end up racing with the moonlight to reach the sun. It was probably sappy the way she described it. But she couldn’t help it. She liked how it started slow and ominously, then cheerful and peaceful, to then fast paced and panicked.

Beethoven really was a genius. It was odd looking back in history how back then, he was thought to be a nut job. But his pieces managed to become famous later on, and were now memorable classics. Then again, many famous people in the past weren’t really acknowledged for their accomplishments until later on in history. To Kaede, it just comes to show how some people can be self centered and not care about another’s accomplishments until it was too late. Kaede didn’t want to become someone who would just overlook a person’s goals later in life but rather someone who acknowledges them in the present.

As the third movement was about to end, Kaede could feel herself returning back to reality. Back to this prison of a school. Kaede wondered why anyone in the right mind would want to orchestrate such a killing game. Why would they do this? Was it purely just for the sake of entertainment for them? If so, then they were clearly twisted and sick in the head. Shuichi already pointed out that there wasn’t a mastermind within the school considering Shuichi’s plan didn’t show any results. No one came to use the hidden door other than Rantaro. But he didn't have the means to open the door. It was just another trick by Monokuma. But Kaede wondered how they would be able to escape the killing game. Attempting to commit another murder was already out the window. She already made a fatal mistake, and she wasn’t going to make it again.

She looked out the window, realizing that the sky was starting to change into an orange pink. Dusk was starting to approach. It wouldn’t be long now before Shuichi's piano lesson begins. Kaede thought of what kind of lesson she should give to Shuichi. Recalling that they didn’t play much piano yesterday, Kaede wanted to make this a long yet enjoyable lesson. Kaede considered the fact that Shuichi had trouble playing different pieces for each hand. It’s a common issue that most beginners had so she could understand Shuichi’s struggles. So the best thing she could do was help him through this. Once he learned to get through this, he could play any piece anytime he wanted.

Kaede tried to think of different possibilities of what to do when sudden, frantic banging startled Kaede out of thoughts. Kaede literally jumped out of her seat from the loud noise the door was making. It almost felt like she was in some sort of horror movie with how loud it was. Before Kaede could even say anything, the door flung open. It turned out to be none other than the Ultimate Aikido Master herself. But she looked utterly exhausted. It was like she was running a marathon, with the sweat dripping off her face and how her legs looked shaky like they were about to collapse.

“T-Tenko, are you alright?!” Kaede quickly asked.

“K-Kaede... you... you have to run...” Tenko panted.

_What?_

“I was... running around...haa... warning... all the females...huff... I don’t even know... if even I... stand a chance... against him... cough.” Tenko wheezed.

“’Him?’ Him who?” Kaede asked.

Tenko froze in fear. It was almost as if she sensed something ominous approaching them.

“Sorry Kaede! I need to go! Please... RUN!”

With that, Tenko ran away in between her breaths straight out of Kaede’s lab. Kaede wondered what it was that caused Tenko to panic so much. According to her, this was something even she couldn’t handle with her Aikido skills. What was going on? Kaede didn’t even get a chance to ponder over the possibilities, she heard a scream. It sounded like Keebo. Immediately, Kaede rushed to the the hallway past Kirumi's lab where she could oversee the main hall on the first floor from the second floor. As soon as she could see the railing, she slammed her hands and gripped them tightly to lean over to see what was going on. But she didn’t expect what to see what she was seeing.

On the first floor, she saw Gonta holding Keebo like a sack of potatoes. Gonta looked like some sort of rampant beast out on a hunt. He looked like he was literally on fire as she could see a literal aura around him and his eyes were flaring up. Gonta looked terrifying and Kaede would be next if she didn’t do anything. Keebo was flailing his arms around and kicking like crazy in hopes of escaping Gonta’s grasp. But to no avail as Gonta had an iron grip on him. He looked like he was planning something terrible for Keebo. Kaede was terrified with what she was seeing.

Gonta, walked away and out of Kaede’s sight. Kaede could literally hear Gonta’s footsteps marching towards the stairs leading. She started to panic. She couldn’t just run into a room and hide. She’ll just end up dead ending herself. Kaede panicked over what to do. It wouldn’t be long before he’d find her. But her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Keebo screaming to let him go and Gonta’s footsteps were drawing nearer.

Out of reflex, Kaede ran to the other side of the overhanging hallway and ducked behind the railing. Kaede covered her mouth to muffle her breathing. As she could hear Gonta coming closer, she could swear that she could feel the ground vibrate beneath her. Kaede could feel her heart hammering. She peeked between the balusters and saw Gonta’s huge figure approaching. She could even see Keebo struggling to escape and demanding what was going on with Gonta. Kaede was paralyzed. She didn’t know what to do. But she had to act fast because Gonta was turning right, heading towards her. Kaede acted fast as she crawled towards the left side of the hall, watching the giant through the balusters. She tried to move quickly but as quietly as possible. She watched as Gonta was moving swiftly through the other side of the hall with Keebo in his arms. Kaede rounded the corner as she tried to remain as small as possible.

As soon as she rounded the corner the same time as Gonta, she scooted toward the center of the railing to peek and see what Gonta was about to do. She saw Gonta marching forward and headed straight to the Ultimate Entomologist’s lab. He quickly swung the door open and disappeared behind the door. Kaede saw this opportunity to peer over the railing. It seemed Gonta was taking Keebo, against his will, to his lab. Was he forcing Keebo to appreciate his insects? Kaede really understood where Keebo was coming from.

However, she was jolted out of her thoughts when she heard Gonta slam the door open, looking ferocious. Kaede was terrified of the look Gonta had right now. But she froze when she saw Gonta turn his head like the speed of light, looking straight at her. Terrified would not describe what Kaede was feeling. She was petrified, frozen, scared, trembling, and could feel constant chills. Gonta faced her, feeling an overwhelming amount of aura coming from him. It was almost like he had some sort of grudge with Kaede and he was about to get her back by using his fists.

“There you are... Gonta has found you...” Gonta murmured as he took a step forward. Kaede took a step backwards.

“Gonta... will not... let you go... Gonta cannot... forgive...”

Kaede had her eyes wide open at Gonta as he approached the other side of the rail.

“Gonta... will not allow it!”

When Gonta raised his voice at those last words, Kaede took it as a cue to bolt. She turned on her heels and sprinted away as if her life depended on it. She was already thankful that she was on the other side of the overhanging hallway because having Gonta go around rather than straight at her like a bull gave her some time to get away. But this barely bought her a lot of time because she could already feel the ground vibrate as Gonta was getting closer to her. Knowing Gonta, he could probably run on miles end and still not be tired considering his background. If Kaede was going to out maneuver him, she needed to use her brain than rely solely on her poor stamina.

She managed to reach to the stairs leading to the first floor. Knowing that it would be moments before Gonta could catch her, she leapt down the first flight of stairs. This wasn’t her best idea as the landing proved to be painful for both her legs. But if she stopped for even a moment, then Gonta would in no doubt catch her and do who knows what. So Kaede turned to the next set of stairs and skipped over two steps as she finally landed on the floor. But she had no time to rest as she heard him storming down the stairs as well.

Kaede bolted, but her body was starting to give out as she could no longer use the remaining piece of adrenaline to keep sprinting. There was no doubt that Gonta would catch up to her soon. Kaede ran through the hallways, which was starting to become a laborious task considering the exhaustion and how she leapt down the stairs. If she needed to get away from him, she had to think of something now. As she tried to force her legs down the hall, she saw that she was going to approach the boys and girls restroom. Kaede could feel a light bulb popping over her head as she came up with what she thought was a good idea.

Gonta, who lived by the code of a gentleman, would never do anything that could break the laws of society. So there’s a high chance that he would never enter a girl’s bathroom, no matter the situation. His entire goal was to strive to be a perfect gentleman.

But, whatever Gonta was planning could cause him to disregard the gentleman’s code for the time being. Kaede was literally playing hangman’s gambit with this.

However, Kaede could feel Gonta looming close behind. It looked like she had to take the risk of hiding in the girl’s bathroom. She used the last ounce of stamina she had left and flung herself into the bathroom. This action caused her to collide onto the ground. Acting quickly, she used her feet to kick the door shut. She then scooted on her butt under the sink, trying to make herself as small as possible. She prayed that Gonta would still behave like the gentleman he’s always been and wouldn’t take a step into the bathroom.

Kaede heard footsteps dragging in front of the bathroom. She covered her mouth again to quiet her panting. A shadow then appeared underneath the space beneath the door. This terrified the girl. She prayed that Gonta wouldn’t dare open the door and take Kaede to wherever he was planning on taking her. She pulled her legs closer to her body, despite how much pain it was causing her from her jump from the stairs. Kaede wondered if Gonta was going to wait outside the door to see if she would come out, which there was no way in hell she’d go out. She would even choose to camp in here if she had to.

It felt like a millennia passed before the shadow started to shrink away and out of the bathroom. Kaede heard the footsteps recede. She let out a breath of relief as she could finally relax from that entire situation. She let her legs lay out and her head rest against the pipe, not caring that she was under a mucky sink. She could finally rest and catch her breath.

Or so she thought. She heard something scuffling in the bathroom stalls. This caused Kaede to sit up, which wasn’t a great idea since she was under a sink. She hit her head under the metal sink. This was the second time in this school that she hit her head on something. She groaned in pain as she pressed her hand against the injury.

“Ow...” she moaned angrily.

Nevertheless, she scooted out from underneath the sink and stood up, using the sink as a hold to pull herself up. First running for her life and now she banged her head in a bathroom. This was not her day. As she managed to get back up on her feet, she slowly crept towards the stall. It didn’t sound like the occupant was using the bathroom. So most likely, they were hiding in the stall for some reason. But just to be sure, she decided to be considerate and knock on the door. What she didn’t expect was for the occupant to make a yell similar to a war cry and kick the stall door open. Kaede barely managed to avoid the swinging door as she landed on her rear.

“GONTA! DON’T COME NEAR ME! I KNOW-” the hyper occupant looked around with his fists up, only to realize there was no Entomologist around. Instead he saw, Kaede on the ground.

“K-Kaede?!”

“Kaito?!”

She could hardly believe her eyes. Hiding in the stall of the girl’s bathroom was a guy?!

“What are you doing in here?!” He exclaimed, reaching out to pull Kaede back up.

“I should asking you that! What are you doing in the _girl’s bathroom?!_ ” Kaede yelled, both confused and upset at the same time.

Kaito raised his hands in self defense. “Hey! Keep your voice down!” He warned, causing Kaede to purse her lips in a straight line. He scratched the back of his head. “Anyway, when I heard that Gonta was on the hunt for us, I knew that I needed to evade him somehow. That’s when I decided to hide in here since Gonta wouldn’t dare look in here.”

Kaede didn’t know whether to be impressed by his logic or upset over the fact that he chose to hide in the girl’s bathroom. Actually, scratch that, Kaede was more upset that Kaito was invading in a private room just to hide.

“Well, you’re not staying here!” Kaede proceeded to grab Kaito’s arm and pull him towards the exit.

“Wait, where are you taking me?”

“Out of the girl’s bathroom, where else?”

“WHAT?!”

Kaito immediately pulled out of Kaede grip. Kaede turned around to scold him as to why he shouldn’t stay here in the first place. She noticed Kaito’s face was paling.

“Kaede! C’mon! I’m begging you! I know it’s not cool for a guy to just waltz in here. I swear, I would never do something as low and pervy as that! But if I go back out there, who knows what will happen!”

Kaito proceeded to clap his hands together in front of his face, bowing his head with his eyes squeezed shut.

“So please! Let me stay here! Once I know it’s safe, I promise I won’t waste a second leaving this place. Please!”

Kaito stayed in his simple begging position. Now Kaede was at a stalemate. On the one hand, what Kaito was doing was morally wrong. But on the other hand, looking at the circumstances, he had a good reason to be here. Kaede remembered how frightened she was fleeing from Gonta and was scared to think of possibility of what would happen if she had gotten caught. Sending Kaito back out into that danger would haunt her to no end, especially when Kaito had no intention of peeping in the first place.

She relented, letting out a sigh and let her arms drop.

“Fine, you can stay,” Kaede sighed out.

Color started returning to Kaito’s face as a wide grin grew across his face. He was clearly happy that he won this little battle.

“Oh! Thanks so much Kaede, you’re the bes-”

“But I’m telling Tenko you hid here.”

Now all the color that just recently returned started receding once again as Kaito looked terrified for a new reason.

“Wha-?! Kaede c’mon! Have some mercy, will ya?!”

Kaede just laughed at his response. There was no way she’d let him get away scott free with this. Kaito continued to try and convince Kaede not to tell as she just settled with leaning against the sink. Realizing that there was no way he’d get her to change her mind, Kaito grumbled in defeat as he settled with just leaning against the bathroom wall.

They both just stayed quiet in this moment. It felt sort of awkward considering that there was a guy in the girl’s bathroom. But then again, this was Kaito. The same upbeat, kind guy who let her help him carry the props to the gym.

The astronaut probably got tired of the quiet because he attempted to start a conversation.

“So... you happen to know why Gonta was hunting us down?” he asked.

Kaede shook her head. “No, but I think he’s taking them into his lab for something,” she informed, recalling Gonta lugging Keebo into his lab.

Kaito just scratched the back of his head, taking in this fragment of info.

“His lab, huh. That already spells out bad news...”

“What about you, Kaito. Do you happen to know something?” she asked, only to have Kaito groan in response.

“Not really. All I heard was Gonta say something about ‘Uniting everyone together,’ and something about insects.”

Already hearing that Gonta had the words ‘unite’ and ‘insects’ in the same sentence left a bad taste in the pianist’s mouth. She felt sorry for Keebo who was now trapped in his lab with a bunch of creepy insects. And who knows who else Gonta managed to capture. She hoped that Tenko and Shuichi managed to evade him.

Kaede was lost in thought with worry when Kaito decided to interrupt.

“By the way, how are you holding up?”

This question took Kaede by surprise as she looked at Kaito with alarm. Kaede couldn’t even form any words, all she could say was ‘huh?’

“I mean well, about your... entire situation. About... Rantaro...”

Kaede just stared wide eyed. Was she wrong about Kaito, thinking that she still had his trust? Did he doubt her too? It didn’t seem like it. She could hear worry in his voice.

“I understand if you don’t want to talk about it... I’m just...y’know... worried.”

Kaede let out a quiet sigh of relief. It looked like she was looking to much into it. Kaito proceeded to explain.

“I noticed Himiko seemed to keep her distance and Angie barely took your words for advice so...”

Kaede pulled herself off the sink, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, I’ll admit it’s a bit tough... I can kinda understand where they’re coming from,though. I wouldn’t trust me either... But I’m sure things will work out!” Kaede stated. She tried her best to sound confident, but it clearly sounded forced too. She mentally scolded herself for putting up such a poor act.

“Well, whatever happens, just know that you have my support!” He reassured, smiling wide.

Kaede was surprised. It was one thing for Shuichi to still have her trust. But why Kaito?

“Uh, but why?” she couldn’t help but ask.

Kaito grumbled impatiently. “What? Do I have to have a reason? I trust you because I say so! I don’t need a reason or permission to place my trust in someone!” He blurted out. “You’re not some heartless murderer, okay? You’re a fellow classmate who ended up having her back forced against the wall. Nah, scratch that, you’re our friend who fought with her life on the line! You risked your life for everyone’s sake! And if they can’t see that, then they’re the ones who need to change. Not you, okay?”

Kaede didn’t know what to say. She knew he was kind, but this was just going beyond that. What she got from Kaito was more than she could ever ask for. Not only did he understand her reasons, but he was willing to go as far as to defend and possibly fight anyone who would question her. Kaede clenched over her heart, feeling the fabric of her vest between her fingers. She could feel her eyes starting to sting.

“Thanks Kaito. I’m glad I still have your trust. It means a lot. But uh, don’t hold this against everyone. I want to earn that trust back. I don’t need you to slug everyone,” she assured, chuckling at the end.

“Hmph, alright. But if anyone even wants to try and give you a hard time, they’re gonna have to go through me!” he yelled to get that message through Kaede. He slammed his fist into the palm of his hand to demonstrate his power.

_Wait, was he seriously considering punching everyone if they showed signs of distrust towards me?_

Kaito managed to calm down from his declaration as he went back to leaning against the bathroom wall. Kaede’s fingers began tapping on the sink, longing to hear the sound of the piano again. She wondered how much longer it they needed to hide out in this bathroom covered in overgrowth before they could finally leave.

“I wonder if Shuichi is okay...” Kaede blurted out quietly. But she bit her lips as she realized what she had just asked. Shuichi was her friend, but that just came out of nowhere. Kaede looked down, wondering if this would give Kaito the wrong impression. She prayed that Kaito wouldn’t misinterpret it.

Kaito scratched his goatee, thinking. This already made Kaede anxious.

“I'm sure he’s alright. When I found out about Gonta’s crazy rampage, the first thing I did was warn Shuichi.”

Kaede mustered the courage to look at Kaito, trying to look neutral about than just straight up panicked over what she just asked.

“He’s a pretty resourceful dude. He knows when shit goes on and how to handle it. I hate to admit it, but I think he’s smarter than me.”

Kaede tilted her head. She didn’t expect Kaito to look up to Shuichi in that way. She expected Kaito to be the type to put himself on a higher pedestal. Not a braggart necessarily, but rather proud of himself.

“I don’t think so. I think you’re both pretty smart, even if you don’t look like it. I just think Shuichi thinks ahead more than you,” Kaede admitted.

Kaito bore a wide grin, “Well gee, thanks Kaede. I appreciate-” his face changed into a frustrated look when he realized Kaede’s double backhanded compliments. “HEY! Wait a minute! What’s that supposed to mean?!"

Kaede just laughed. It’s been awhile since she had messed around with another person like this. Shuichi was more someone who could support her and keep her calm in her time of need. He was more of that type of friend who would lend her his shoulder when needed. Kaito was more of that free spirit who Kaede could feel like she could be allowed to have fun. And Kaito had a way of reassuring her that she was a person with flaws, not some sort of outsider who wasn’t allowed to be with others.

Both showed their undying support to Kaede. Yet, they each showed it in different ways.

But she was still grateful to them regardless.

Kaito and Kaede ended up talking to each other more about this and that to help pass the time. But even if Kaito made her feel included again, she couldn’t help but feel the guilt creep up her. Not the guilt of not being allowed to be with everyone. Rather, the guilt of having been able to avoid Gonta while everyone else such as Keebo are stuck doing whatever it is Gonta is making them do. She wondered if there was anything she could do.

She stared at the door, pondering. Kaito caught her looking at something as he followed her gaze to the door. He could tell the kind of troubles that were going through her mind. He sighed out loud. She felt so helpless. Was there nothing she could do? Kaede thought about what she should do.

The brief moments of silence pass until Kaito jumped on his feet, pounding his fists together which startled Kaede from her thoughts.

“Dammit! I can’t stand it anymore! Kaede!”

This caused Kaede to jump on her feet on reflex.

“Whaddya say we see what’s going on!” offered Kaito.

_What?_

He balled his fists, looking straight at Kaede.

“I can’t just sit around here like a girl crying all my problems out! A man should go out there and make sure his fri-”

“EXCUSE ME?!” Kaede interjected. Furious doesn’t even describe what she was feeling right now.

Kaito didn’t miss Kaede’s fury as he tried to simmer the situation.

“Uh wait! I didn’t mean like... y’know. Like, looking at a lady, they act refined and helpless, to a point that they can’t do anything. But you’re definitely not a lady or anything like that! You know how to hold her ground. Like a manly... girl...”

Now Kaede was PISSED. She just glared at him, ready to shred his face off and tear his limbs off. Kaito noticed that this did not sate Kaede’s rage at all. He started to really panic.

“Uh no wait! That’s not what I meant! I just mean... you know, like you’d totally be an awesome man?... ‘Cause, y’know, you’re pretty bold. But because you’re girl, that’s amazing on it’s own... Kaede what are you doing in the supply closet?” he asked hesitantly, noticing that Kaede briskly walked to the supply closet, shuffling through some stuff.

“I’m just getting a broom so that I can bash some common sense in that thick head of yours!” she threatened, pulling out a large broom.

This terrified the astronaut. At this point, getting caught by a rampaging Gonta seemed to be a lot better than facing an angry Kaede.

“OKAY! OKAY! I’M REALLY SORRY! OKAY?! I DIDN’T MEAN TO SAY ALL THAT! I TAKE IT ALL BACK! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I DON’T WANT TO FACE YOURS AND TENKO’S WRATH!” he screamed, practically begging for Kaede’s forgiveness. Kaito really did seem terrified of having Kaede attack him. Puffed her cheeks, but decided not to let her temper get to her and threw the broom back in the supply closet.

“Alright, I’ll let it slide this once.”

Kaito sighed out in relief. “Thanks Kaede... Uh, you’re not gonna tell Tenko, are you?”

“Depends on what you say next.”

Kaito gritted his teeth, planning on what to say without sounding sexist.

“Well, I was saying that we need to do something. Gonta’s out hunting everyone else and maybe succeeded while we’re just basically hiding in fear. If there’s a chance we can do something, then we need to take that chance, not run away!”

Kaede was impressed by Kaito’s bravery. He was the type to charge forward even when danger seemed imminent. She remembered when everyone was talking about the Flashback Light. Kaito persuaded everyone into using it, saying that they shouldn’t run away but rather move forward because otherwise, no one would be able to make progress.

Now, Kaito wanted to take that step forward again. This time, to find out what was going with Gonta and figure out everyone’s condition. There was no way Kaede was gonna continue hiding in this bathroom, running away. She wanted to move forward too.

“I saw Gonta take Keebo to his lab. We should start there,” she informed. This let Kaito know that she was with him all the way. Kaito punched at Kaede's shoulder playfully.

“Way to go, Kaede! I knew I could count on you!” He turned right around, facing the door. “Alright then, let’s me first see if the coast is clear.”

Kaito slowly approached the door, not wanting to make any sound of him leaving. Kaede stayed right where she was, holding her breath to try and not make any sort of sound, not even the sound of her own breathing. Kaito pushed open the door a crack to peer through. Kaede wondered if there were any blind spots there that would cause Kaito to miss anything. She prayed that Gonta wasn’t lying in wait somewhere where Kaito couldn’t see him. The last thing she needed was for both of them to get caught in the middle of there mission. When Kaito didn’t see anything through the crack, he opened the door wider to stick his head out. Kaede watched as he looked around side to side to see the hallway better. Kaede wondered if anyone would notice Kaito in the girl’s bathroom looking around. If anyone did see, then this would no doubt make him look a pervert, trying to sneak out.

Kaito pulled his head out, but still kept his eyes on the door.

“Okay, the coast looks clear. Are you ready?”

Kaede tugged on the straps of her backpack, tightening around her shoulders.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, writing that chapter was just a ride... And I loved it!
> 
> Also, the whole Kaito and Kaede scene where Kaede called out Kaito for his sexist comment was my sister's idea. So shout out to her! I loved writing that scene.
> 
> Next chapter will be operation rescue everyone from Gonta's wrath. AKA have Kaede save Shuichi's ass.


	15. Chapter 15

As soon as Kaito left through the door, Kaede followed, but not before peering side to side from the door. She looked around to see if there were any places Kaito may have overlooked. From her perspective though, she didn’t see anything unusual. It was just an empty hallway. It felt unnatural seeing nobody around. Did Gonta manage to capture every single student in the school?

“Kaede, c’mon. We can’t stay in one place for long,” Kaito cautioned.

Kaede quickly apologized as she jogged back to Kaito’s side, careful not to make any sudden sounds. Both of them walked slowly to make sure not to attract any sort of attention. Kaede kept her eyes and ears open. However, she couldn’t see anything out of place, nor could her sensitive ears pick up anything in particular. It was all too quiet. This alone made the pianist get chills in her spine. She tugged on Kaito’s jacket.

“Something’s wrong. Do you hear that?”

Kaito stayed quiet, cupping his ears to pick up any sound. His brow furrowed.

“Hear what? I don’t hear anything.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing. It’s too quiet.”

Kaito realized this and immediately, she could see Kaito stiffen, putting his guard up.

“You don’t think Gonta managed to capture everyone else, do you?”

Kaede only stayed silent. This silence was enough of an answer for the astronaut. He clenched his teeth as he slammed his fists together.

“Damn. Well then Kaede, I guess it’s up to us!” Kaito declared, trying to sound enthusiastic in this tense atmosphere. “Let us commence ‘Operation: Rescue Everyone from a Pissed off Gonta’”

Kaede gave a long look before replying, “...‘Operation: Rescue Everyone from a Pissed off Gonta?’”

“I had to come up with a name on the spot, okay?! Cut me some slack!”

Kaede just giggled. Leave it to Kaito to help lighten the mood, whether it was intentional or not. Kaito instructed Kaede to stay close to him after that tidbit. Kaede didn’t argue as she stayed within a foot in his general direction. They walked in a normal pace but kept their eyes open for Gonta and anyone else. They didn’t say anything, which was probably for the best considering that they were trying their best not to get caught.

But fate seemed to have other plans today. They were just about to reach the stairs when, out of the corner of Kaede’s eye, she spotted something sprinting toward them. Kaede spun her head quickly, fearing that they were already caught before they even started. But it was already too late. The mysterious someone already grabbed her arm.

However, instead of pulling her away somewhere, like she feared, she was instead spun around in a circle. After making a three-sixty, she was stopped in her tracks when the mysterious person grabbed around her waist and pressing their face into Kaede’s back. She had to crane her neck over her shoulder to see who exactly this unknown culprit was. All she could see was purple hair with a white uniform. Their identity was already known as Kaede recognized the small supreme leader.

He dug his face deeper into her back, “Kaede! Be my human meat shield!”

Before Kaede could even ask what he was even talking about, she heard the light but quick footfalls of Kokichi’s pursuer. She looked up and saw that it was none other than the Ultimate Maid Kirumi as she slowed down to a light jog when she saw Kokichi hiding behind Kaede. She let out a breath of exasperation as she placed her hand over her chest, regaining her elegant posture.

“Kokichi, what the hell are you doing?” Kaito decided to ask, looking between both him who was snuggling into Kaede’s vest and Kirumi

Kokichi just peeked from behind Kaede, “I’m just using my third best strategy. Use Kaede as a human meat shield! Because there’s no way Kirumi or anyone else for that matter would _**EVER**_ approach a murderer!”

Her heart nearly stopped a beat when Kokichi said that. She bit the inside of her cheek. It was one thing for a person to keep their distance. It was another for someone to rub salt in the wound and get personal enjoyment out of it. Kaede couldn’t get a read on Kokichi’s feelings or his motives. But at that moment, she chose not to care. All she did was bite harder, already tasting iron between her teeth.

Kaito marched right over to him, pointing right at his face.

“Fuck off! First off, Kaede is NOT a murderer! We’ve already established that! Secondly, you better cut that attitude out right now! Otherwise, I might have to punch some sense into you!” he roared.

Kokichi shrieked as he gripped Kaede’s waist tighter and spun her to face Kaito.

“Kaede’s murderous tendency is spreading to Kaito!”

Kaede just shut her eyes, trying to ignore Kokichi’s cruel comments and tried to flood her mind with music. Mostly Beethoven’s 5th Symphony because it conveyed a feeling of anger that drowned out all else from her mind. It managed to calm her down as she remembered their main task was to find everyone who had been captured by Gonta. She can't let herself get intimidated by Kokichi. But first, she had some questions to ask Kokichi. She looked over to Kokichi to see him looking back at her. She wanted to find some sort of emotion in his face. Guilt. Fear. Even anger towards her. But he bore an innocent wide grin at her. He really didn’t show any sign of guilt calling Kaede a murderer and trying to make her feel bad in any way possible. But she didn’t falter. Kaito looked like he was ready to protest further when Kaede held her hand up to stop Kaito.

“Kokichi, how did you even evade Gonta?” she questioned, looking at him straight in the eye. What she wanted were answers from him, not his charades.

This brought a look of shock on Kokichi’s face. An expression Kaede never thought she’d see on his face at all in her entire life. Kaede realized now that she was able to get a better look at him that he had tears welled up in her eyes.

“What?! You mean Gonta really did have that party?! And he didn’t invite me?!” Kokichi sniffled, a precursor to the wailing, “WAAAAAAH! THAT’S SO MEAN! I THOUGHT WE WERE F-FRIENDS!”

He buried his face once again into Kaede’s vest as he sobbed. Kaede just rolled his eyes. He was definitely childish among other things.

“I even suggested this party to him... I...I feel... WAAAAAAAAH!”

Kaito marched right over to him

“So you were the one responsible for this entire mess!” Kaito yelled angrily.

Kirumi folded her hands over her chest.

“I had a suspicion that you were doing something that was causing trouble for everyone else,” she stated coldly, but Kaede thought she picked up traces of annoyance in her voice.

Kokichi just continued to cry crocodile tears in Kaede’s vest. Even if they were fake, they still dampened her clothes. It was infuriating that Kokichi was acting like a victim when he was the one who caused all this chaos to occur. If Kokichi was just really being sad, she would have gone out of her way to comfort him in his crying state. But, being the liar he is right now, all Kaede did was grab his arms and pried them off her waist. Once she did, she stepped away from him, finally glad to have gotten some sort of distance from Kokichi. Dealing with him any time is just exasperating. She could never get a clear reading on him and he never makes life any easier for anybody.

Although, still being the kindhearted person she was, Kaede turned to check on him. Even if he was a liar, it was still a bit cruel for Kaede to pull away from him. In a way, he was probably seeking some weird form of comfort from her. Looking at him, all Kaede saw was Kokichi’s head hanging as he whimpered. Kokichi sniffed on last time before looking up back at everyone. But Kaede was surprised to see that now he was wearing a playful look of a little kid. Kaede knew Kokichi had an ability to switch his emotions in a blink of an eye. But the sudden switch made it look like he never cried in the first place. This both shocked and upset Kaede. She took back any feeling of pity she had for him. All the emotion she had left for Kokichi was annoyance and anger.

“Ah, silly Gonta! You forgot the most important part of the party! You can’t have a screening without anything to watch with!” he excitedly declared. He started skipping away from the group and made his way to the main entrance.

“Hold on! What you mean by that?! Kokichi! We’re not done here!” Kaito demanded loudly. He balled his fists. Kaede already knew that Kaito was already falling for Kokichi’s taunts. Kokichi started jogging in place right in front of the entrance

“If you want answers, you’re gonna have to catch me first!”

Kokichi then bolted away through the main doors, not bothering to shut the doors behind him. Kaito growled, furious as to what Kokichi was doing. Everyone was probably suffering or hurting thanks to Kokichi. But to him, it was all just one big game. A game where he was winning and was doing whatever he wants. This frustrated Kaede and enraged Kaito.

“Hey! I’m not done with you! Get back here!”

Before Kaede could even respond, a flash of mauve passed by the corner of her eye. Before she knew it, Kaito was already several feet from the entrance. All she did was stare at him with disbelief. Was he really planning on chasing Kokichi and leaving her to do the rescue by herself?!

If Kaede was going to be completely honest, she was utterly terrified with where this was going. The thought of facing Gonta by herself filled her with dread. Looking at the odds, the chances of an average pianist winning against a huge, muscular, and athletic entomologist were pretty much close to zero. At least with Kaito by her side, they’d at least have a bit of a winning chance of succeeding to save everyone. After all, two heads were better than one. Kaede could not let Kaito’s anger get the better of him and chase after Kokichi just because he was taunting him. Sure his behavior was suspicious, but they had no time to deal with him. They needed to focus.

“Kaito wait!” Kaede called out, reaching out to him. Not that it mattered considering that Kaito was meters away from her. Kaito ignored Kaede as he sprinted through the entrance in pursuit of Kokichi. This plan was already starting to fall apart and it barely started! Kaede watched where Kaito once stood, still aghast that he just left her to deal with this entire thing.

“Well, it appears Kaito has plans of his own,” Kirumi commented after a long moment of silence.

Kaede rolled her eyes to her. “More like had a _change_ of plans,” she corrected. She pinched the bridge of her nose. Kaito was clearly impulsive, but she had no idea that it was so drastic that he would just drop everything in a blink of an eye. She made a mental note that if she ever teamed up with Kaito, she’d make sure to run into as little distractions as possible. Or at least, avoid Kokichi.

“Although I do not have a grasp on what you are planning, if you would like, I will be happy to assist you as soon as possible,” she reassured.

Kaede tilted her head, trying to understand what Kirumi meant. She proceeded to explain. “I was lecturing Kokichi to not cause problems for others when I caught him skulking around the halls. He then made a sudden request to play a game of tag with him.”

Kaede tried to resist the urge to groan. Kirumi was clearly dedicated to her talent. This was both a blessing and a curse. To think she would go as far to entertain a student in a childish game at a time like this. Then again, she might’ve been manipulated by Kokichi. Kaede shook that idea out of her head. Kirumi was the least likely to fall for Kokichi’s antics. If anything, Kokichi probably took advantage of Kirumi’s ‘selfless devotion’ by requesting her attention to make sure no one could ask her to help the others.

Either way, Kirumi would be unable to assist Kaede since Kokichi made a request to her first.

Of course, Kaede was more worried about Kaito despite him ditching her at a moment’s notice. Kaito was still bigger than Kokichi so Kokichi barely had a fighting chance against him. But Kokichi did have his wit so Kaito might be walking, or in this case, sprinting towards a trap. Not to mention, Kokichi stated that he was getting Gonta something for ‘screening.’ Kaede had no idea what he was talking about, like usual. Everything he does seemed to barely make any sense. But she already had some sort of bad feeling about Kokichi’s motives.

“It’s alright, Kirumi. I’ll be fine. Actually, if you can, could you keep an eye on Kokichi and Kaito? I’m kinda concerned for those two.”

Kirumi curtsied, acknowledging Kaede’s request.

“I will fulfill your request to the fullest,” she replied.

“And also, if I’m not back in twenty minutes... tell Kaito that something bad happened to me.”

Kirumi looked at her wide-eyed. But quickly maintained her composure as she curtsied again. She replied that she would make sure to get to Kaito when the time came. It gave Kaede relief that a mature student would be watching over two children each for different reasons. She felt bad that she was putting Kirumi through this. But considering her options, she barely had any choice.

Kirumi excused herself as she resumed her chase after Kokichi. She followed Kokichi’s exact path and exited through the same entrance. Now Kaede was left completely alone in the hall. The only one left who could possibly save everyone in Gonta’s lab. Kaede balled her fists tightly around her backpack straps.

_Okay... It’s now or never!_

Kaede grit her teeth as she approached the stairs and proceeded to ascend to the second floor. It wasn’t easy to shake off the anxiety she had. She knew what she had to do. She just needed to figure out how she would accomplish this feat. This wasn’t a simple task as all that flooded in her mind were endless possibilities on how she would fail this. She really didn’t know what she was doing. All she knew though was that she had to get to Gonta’s lab. So as of now, she had to go through the task of forcing her feet up the steps despite her paranoia screaming at her that this was a terrible idea. Not that it was wrong. But just the thought of abandoning her friends in there with Gonta would make her feel endless regret.

She finally managed to complete that part of the plan, which was to make it to the second floor without getting caught. This brought relief to the pianist. She closed her eyes as she tried to settle her paranoid brain. She could check off the first part of her plan. Now only a dozen more steps to go.

After Kaede managed to calm herself, she moved towards the wall and walked close to it as she walked in the direction of the tiny hallway. She kept her hand on the wall, just as a way of comfort in this dangerous situation. It felt cool and rough under her fingertips. It made her feel somewhat better as it reminded her of playing piano. When she pressed against the wall however, no sound came. All that she heard was silence. This bitter silence just made everything worse. The whole atmosphere became more ominous from its quietness to its darkness.

There was no way she would turn back though. She gave herself a quick slap on her cheeks and proceeded further into the dark hallway. She could see the small opening become closer and closer as she made her way forward. It wouldn’t be long before she could check off the next part of the plan: Make it to the smaller hallway without getting caught. She was now just a few feet away. She looked at the ground. There was no trace of the dragon statue anywhere. No rubble, not even a tiny speck of it. Either Kirumi or the Monokubs were responsible for the excellent clean up. It was like any trace of it was gone and that hallway had always been open.

How much of the academy will change? How much more is there to actually explore? Kaede didn’t want to think about these thoughts, because chances are another murder attempt must take place in order to gain more access to the academy. Kaede refused to think of a possibility where they ended up accessing new areas by sacrificing any more of her friends. As long as she was here and breathing, there was no way she’d let anyone die on her watch. She wanted to believe in her friends. She really did. But considering the circumstances of their confinement and the motive, there was a chance that a person would commit a murder if given the push, as much as she hated to admit it.

Right now, she needed to get to everyone as fast as possible. Anything could happen to them.

Just as she was about to round the corner, a sudden sound caused Kaede to jump and fall on her rear. She frantically looked around to see what it was. But when she listened using her ears, she just heard a ringing sound echo. In the corner of the hallway, the monitor started to flicker. Kaede groaned. Of all things, it had to be the damn nighttime announcement that made her jump. How stupid was she, to be scared by a screen filled with obnoxious stuffed bears? This place was taking a serious toll on her mentally. She was so high on her guard that any out of place noises would freak her out. This place was not good for her or for anyone else.

She brushed the dirt off her skirt as she listened to the kubs’ annoying voices. She didn’t bother to look at the screen.

“Rise and Shine, Ursine!” they greeted cheerfully.

“IT-IS-NOW-10PM!” Kaede didn’t even have to look up to see who that was speaking now.

“As such, it is officially nighttime!” A high pitched voice squeaked that Kaede assumed was Monophanie.

“Hey, is it me or do you hear some buzzing?” That annoying voice. Monotaro, no doubt.

“Youse is probably just imaginin’ stuff. I ain’t hearing jack shit.” That slang had to be Monosuke.

Kaede groaned. The announcement continued with them talking about what could make buzzing sound. Then got off topic by talking about bees and their delicious honey and how the kubs enjoyed getting wasted on that stuff. How do bears, let alone ANYONE, get drunk off of honey? If anything the most likely case would be a sugar high or sugar crash.

_...Why am I even thinking about this?! I need to focus on helping everyone!_

Kaede stood up as she made her way around the corner to the small hallway. As she just entered the hallway she heard the kubs close off with their ‘Bedtime Ursine’ slogan. When she heard the screen turn off, she sighed out, glad that she could no longer see or hear those obnoxious bear brats. She was relieved to say the least. Now she could focus on the mission with no sudden distractions. She walked down the dark hall. It was smaller than any of the spacious ones. In a way, it felt like Kaede was taking a secret path. It was small and was hiding behind a wall after all.

Kaede continued down. She saw that she was passing Kirumi’s lab. She was making progress. She could feel herself tingling with excitement as she made it through the third phase. But her body wasn’t the only thing that was tingling with excitement. Her throat began to feel ticklish too. Soon, it grew irritating as she finally let out a cough to stop the itching.

“Geez, Kirumi wasn’t kidding about the air being musty around here...” Kaede complained to herself.

She cleared her throat as she tip-toed to the railings. When got within close proximity, she ducked close by. She was so close now. But this caused her to raise her guard up even more. If she was already this close to her goal, there was no way she’d get caught right now just because she got cocky. She looked behind before deciding to progress. She crouched by the railings and began scooting her way around, trying to stay out of sight as possible. It probably wasn’t necessary and it did make her feel like a child role playing as a spy. But seeing Gonta in such a fury earlier helped her realize that she’d rather put her pride aside than risk getting caught and face who knows what.

So, she continued to keep her head down as she made her way around until she finally rounded the corner. She finally managed to get around. She looked straight ahead and saw Gonta’s lab straight ahead. She stood straight up, keeping her grip still on the railing. She was already on the home stretch. She could see the bug decorated door literally just a few meters away. She swallowed. She just couldn’t release her grip off the railing, nor move her feet. She clenched her teeth.

There was no she’d back out after coming so far. She can’t turn back. Not when they need her. She took her step forward, trying to pull her hand away from railing. Her hand started to burn from her trying to pry them away. But with enough of her grit, her hand finally let go. She looked down at it. Slight scrape marks. But no permanent damage that would stop her from playing piano. But to think that Gonta would terrify her so much that her body had stopped listening to her for a moment.

She had to will her feet to take the baby steps forward to Gonta’s lab. As she got closer to the bug decorated door, her ears picked up something. She could hear some sort of buzzing from inside. It was muffled since it was coming from inside a different room, but fact that she could hear it so clearly already left a bad taste in her mouth. But if that wasn’t enough to convince her of something frightening was going on, she could also pick up another sound. It sounded like screaming. She could hear shouts, cries, and other panicked sounds form behind the door. Now Kaede was desperate to save them fast enough to not get caught up in wherever hell Gonta prepared in there. She willed herself to approach the door and press her ear against the door to see if she could get a better idea on what’s going on.

When she did this, she managed to pick up on a couple of voices.

“What’s taking Kokichi so long! He’s supposed to be back by now!” screamed out a frightened voice. Kaede recognized it immediately. It was Shuichi. He’d been caught?!

But before she could think about that, she picked up on other voices too.

“The more I try to talk, the more bugs come flying into my mou- pttph!”

“Himiko! Hang in there! Angie don’t just stand there and pray! HELP HER!”

“GET THE FUCK OFF ME!!! AAAAH!!!!”

“Everyone! Please try and hang on a bit longer!”

“Everyone play nice! Gonta will introduce you to more friends!”

Kaede could make out all the other voices. Inside were Tsumugi, Tenko, Miu, Kiyo, Keebo, and of course, Gonta. And judging by what they said, other people were inside too. She needed to think of something. She tried to think of some sort of way to help them escape. But there were no other exits other than the lab entrance. Not only that, but she’d in no doubt get caught by Gonta.

All Kaede could think of for a plan was to thrust the door open, call out to everyone, and then run away. Albeit, it was a crappy plan and she was making it up as she goes, but it was better than nothing. She pressed her ear against the door one more time. Despite the panicked footfalls of everyone running away, she was able to pick out Gonta’s heavy footsteps. Judging from sound alone, she could hear Gonta moving away from the door a bit. She then heard shuffling.

_Don’t tell me..._

Was he planning on releasing more bugs in that small room?

_The bugs..._

An idea popped in her head. Judging by the sound inside the lab, there must be tons of bugs flying around in the room. If she opened the door, chances are, the bugs will escape Gonta’s lab. That might be enough to distract Gonta to allow everyone else to escape. Of course, there’s a chance that it wouldn’t work. Like with the girl’s bathroom incident, this had a fifty-fifty shot of working. But as of right now, this was the only thing she had close to a plan.

Kaede stood up and wrapped her hand around the doorknob. Just hearing the sounds of screams and insects buzzing loudly caused her to hesitate. She squeezed her eyes shut. She was terrified of seeing what was beyond this door. She had to will her hand to slowly rotate the doorknob. She was so close. All she had to do now was swing the door open as wide as she could to let the insects escape. She grit her teeth as she slammed her palms against the wood.

This caused the door to swing open widely. On that one moment, she could see a hurricane of insects. There were different kinds swarming in the air. On the ground, there were perhaps thousands of them crawling around. She’d mistaken them as part of the ground. Before long, she could see the bugs fly toward her and out of the room. She panicked and backed away as the swarm starting filling the halls. She fell on her butt again and scooted away.

“NO! Bugs! Don’t leave yet!”

Kaede realized that voice to be Gonta.

Not long, she saw the other students realize the door was open.

“The doors open!” called out a voice. Turns out Keebo was the one who said it.

“Move aside! Geniuses first!” then came Miu, sprinting out of the lab like her life depended on it.

Kaede quickly got on her feet. It wouldn’t be long before Gonta would chase after them. After all, letting the bugs out was only a temporary solution. Gonta could easily go back to hunting the other students.

Kaede saw that more students were flooding out of the lab. First Tenko, who was carrying an unconscious Himiko on her back. Then Angie who was right beside Tenko. Next was Kiyo who had Keebo tailing behind him. Finally, Shuichi was at the door.

Kaede called to him, “Hey Shuichi!”

She managed to get his attention. She could see how pale he was from that entire experience. He looked at her and his eyes widened with shock.

“Are you okay?! I heard screaming and-”

She never got the chance to finish as Shuichi rushed over to her in a matter of seconds. Then, out of nowhere, he grabbed her hand and starting running away, pulling her in tow. This caught her by surprise. She did not expect Shuichi of all people to pull a stunt off like that. But feeling the heavy grip around her hand to the point that it felt like shackles, made her realize that he was truly terrified and did not want to risk getting separated from her. She risked a look behind her and saw that Gonta already had a butterfly net pulled out and was swinging it around to catch the runaway insects. Kaede felt herself getting jerked to the right as she realized Shuichi just rounded the corner around the overhanging hallway. The way Shuichi was sprinting so fast, made it hard for Kaede to keep up. She had to rely on Shuichi tightly gripping to her hand to help push through.

She wasn’t sure how long Shuichi was planning on running with her as her legs started feeling sore again. Shuichi left the new hallway and made a sharp turn right, heading straight to one of the empty classrooms. Was Shuichi planning on hiding inside there? Kaede didn’t have much time to think about his actions as Shuichi reached for the sliding door, swung it open, and pulled both himself and Kaede through the door before slamming it shut again. He started at the shut door for a few seconds, and then began catching his breath.

“I thought.. we were... never... gonna get out...” he panted.

As she was also catching her breath, Kaede saw another expression that she thought she’d never see on his face. Pure relief. It was like he just experienced the most terrifying thing in the world where it looked like all hope was lost and was then suddenly freed from it. Whatever happened in there must have been like hell. She really felt sorry for Shuichi and was glad she was able to come to his aid for once. When Shuichi managed to recover his depleted oxygen, he took a moment to access their current situation. He looked around a bit, even though he was already familiar with the area.

“Ah!”

He looked down to realize that he still had his hand around hers. He quickly pulled away and looked away from her, taking the hand he used to grab hers and cling it to his own jacket.

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to- grab on to you like that... I uh... panicked...” he stammered.

Kaede could clearly see the pinkish tint across his face despite his attempt to hide his face from her. He must have been embarrassed about tightly grasping her hand during the time they were running away. She couldn’t blame him. Shuichi is a polite and reserved person by nature. He may have felt like he invaded in on her privacy. Kaede chuckled and shook her head.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad that you’re alright,” she replied.

Shuichi grew quiet suddenly. Kaede wondered if it was something she said. He then let out and exasperated sight as he trudged over to one of the desks and leaned against it.

“‘Alright’ is pushing it. I think ‘functioning’ would be the word to describe me right now,” he corrected tiredly.

Kaede walked over to the other desk, trying not too look too tired as she hoisted her entire body up on the adjacent desk to take a seat.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. I only caught a glimpse of all those swarms of insects, and it already filled me with nausea,” she sympathized.

“Just try staying trapped in a small enclosure with thousands of flying insects with their constant buzzing and the danger of having them fly in your mouth. Also try having to watch your step to not have your feet land on the bugs...” he described in grimace. His eyes were shut tight. Kaede couldn’t tell if it was to force himself to help tell her or to help force him to forget. Probably the latter option.

“That sounds... pretty bad.” That was really all Kaede could say to this description.

“It _was_ bad.” He replied quickly in a way to prevent Kaede from saying anything else. This fact no doubt proved that what he experienced was something he’d never want to go through ever again.

She gave him a sympathetic smile. “Well then, I’m glad I could get you out of there when I cou-”

She froze mid-sentence. Her ears picked up on something. Shuichi opened his mouth to ask what wrong when Kaede placed a finger over her lips. He pressed his lips back together when he caught her signal. She could hear something from outside the classroom. It was faint, but she could make out thumping sounds. They sounded like they were heavy footfalls. She recognized those footfalls.

“Gonta’s coming!” Kaede exclaimed.

Shuichi’s was shaken when he heard that from Kaede. She could see the hairs on Shuichi’s neck stiffen. He was like a deer in the headlights. He was paralyzed with fear. Kaede didn’t want to participate in Gonta’s so called ‘Insect Meet and Greet’ nor have Shuichi go through that all over again. Judging by the footsteps, he may have just left the new hallway and was approaching near them. Kaede quickly thought of their options. Trying to escape was out because Gonta was blocking the only one hallway that could lead them out of here. Sneaking by was also out because there was barely any hiding places in the hallway.

This only left one option. Hide in the classroom, and wait for him to leave. Without wasting a second, she grabbed Shuichi’s arm as she jumped off the desk, pulled him off his own desk, and moved to the other end of the classroom. Since there was only chairs and desks, it left only one option. Kaede pulled Shuichi to the lockers.

“Get in!”

“What?!”

Kaede released her grip on Shuichi and jumped in her own locker to the far left. It was just like when she first woke up here in the academy. It was cramped but large enough to fit her entire body in here. The metal pressed against her shoulders, making her feel a bit claustrophobic. Shuichi saw her actions and caught on to what she was doing as he proceeded to enter the other unoccupied locker. She could hear Shuichi struggling to squeeze himself inside the tiny locker. Shuichi was a bit tall, so he had to duck a bit. But otherwise, he was pretty slender. Kaede pushed her body to the back of the locker as far as she could. She could feel the cold metal against her back. This really brought up the memory of her waking up uncomfortably here. She didn’t hesitate as she slammed the locker door shut. Now with the locker closed, it was almost pitch black. She felt alone and paranoid. It didn’t help that they were hiding from Gonta. The only source of light was the slits on the door. She could feel herself getting chills. She wasn’t sure if she could hide in here any longer even though she just got inside.

She managed to snap out of her paranoia when she heard the locker door next to her close shut. She remembered that Shuichi was there with her. Literally right beside her. This gave her comfort in this darkness.

She wasn’t alone in the dark, Shuichi was there with her.

Relieved, she smiled to herself. But that moment was short-lived as she heard another slamming sound. It wasn’t the sound of a locker. Nor was it the sound of something closing.

Kaede slapped her hand over her mouth as she heard the footsteps. You didn’t have to have a musician’s ears to know that the thundering footsteps were coming closer. She went as far to place her other hand over her heart, in hopes of slowing it down. It hardly did a thing. From the slits on the door, she could see something brown in her vision. She bit the insides of her cheek. She recognized it as Gonta’s uniform.

Even though she could only see what she could assume was the left side of Gonta’s torso, she could feel how fired up Gonta was, in a bad way. She could hear a gruff sound and saw movement from the slits. Was he going to look inside? Kaede bite down harder on her cheeks. She could feel her skin was slick with sweat. If it wasn’t for her hand covering her mouth, she would be hyperventilating very loudly. She stayed as still as a statue as a final hope to think Gonta would change his mind and leave.

She nearly jumped when she heard shaking noises nearby. Kaede started freaking out internally. She saw that Gonta was in front of Shuichi’s locker. Fear began spreading throughout her body. Would Gonta find Shuichi? She knew how terrified he was during the entire thing. The last thing she wanted was for him to go through all that all over again. But if Gonta found him, this would be all her fault. Hiding in a place like this was obvious from the start. She prayed that Gonta would not take Shuichi away as she continued to hear more shaking from the locker. She felt eyes stinging as she squeezed them shut. She didn’t want Shuichi to suffer. If things get bad, she decided to reveal herself and pull Gonta’s attention away from Shuichi. It was the least she could do.

But the shaking stopped. Kaede cautiously opened her eyes. She could still see Gonta’s brown uniform. After seconds which felt like an eternity, she saw his figure move away from her vision. When she couldn’t see, she focused on hearing. She could hear the loud footsteps moving away. The footfalls followed with the sound of something creaking. Then she heard a sound of a door clicking, indicating that it was now shut. Kaede let herself breath again. They managed to evade Gonta. They were both safe.

Kaede took a shaky hand and pushed the door open. She dared herself to pull her head out and look around. It took time for her eyes to adjust in the classroom. It was dim, but it was a quite the difference from the nearly pitch black locker. She blinked a couple times as she scanned the room. There was no one around except her and Shuichi. She carefully pulled herself out of the locker, making sure she didn’t fall again like the first time. She looked around once more to make sure. This brought back memories of her first time realizing she was in this school.

The moment of recalling old memories was short-lived once again as the banging noise from behind made her yelped. This was deja-vu. But this time, she knew what was behind the banging noise.

“Geez, what was that for, Shuichi?!” she scolded at the closed locker.

“Sorry about that! I just can’t open the door!” Shuichi called out from the muffled locker.

Kaede wondered what he meant as she decided to get a closer look at his locker. She tried lifting the latch from the locker, only to realize that it wasn’t budging. As she observed it more closely, she realized that it was coated with rust.

“The latch is rusty. Just hold tight, Shuichi!”

Kaede was no expert in maintenance, but she thought she’d might as well give it a shot. She tried jiggling it side to side as she pulled it up. It barely moved a bit, but she could sense that it would get loose soon.

“God, I think I lost about five years of my life there,” his voice echoed in the metallic locker.

Kaede looked up at the locker through the slits. She hoped that somehow, Shuichi could see her eyes as a way of comfort.

“Hey, you’re alright. Ironically, it’s thanks to this busted latch that Gonta didn’t manage to find you,” Kaede replied as she had her eyes back on the task.

“Yeah, especially when you think about how easy it would be for him to bust the latch open. That was terrifying,” he commented. Kaede could sense a shakiness in his voice.

“Why did he give up? He could’ve easily pried it open,” Kaede asked the locker.

She hear him sigh in the locker, probably trying to think of a reason why.

“I think he came to the conclusion that because it was stuck, no one could possibly try to hide in here. He probably thought the same for the other locker. Not to mention, he also wanted to find everyone else.”

“Probably,” she agreed. She continued to fumble around with the latch, until finally, she was able to push it up enough to hear a click. She managed to open the door. She saw the door already starting to open, she quickly backed away. The door flew open and out fell the detective. His arms managed to catch him, but he still fell on the floor. He groaned as he tried to recover. This really was like the the first memory here. This was almost like the time she first met Shuichi. She chuckled to herself.

“This is your second wipe out this week,” she commented as she watched him get up.

“...Third, actually,” he commented as he sat up, holding up three fingers as he said that.

“...You’ve been keeping track?” Kaede cocked her head as she bent over as she placed her hands on her knees.

Shuichi sighed as he scratched the back of his head, “They’ve all been... pretty memorable.”

She decided not to ask about what the other incident was and instead chose to sit on the floor across from him. Looking closely, he looked exhausted. From running for his life away from Gonta to having to stay frozen while Gonta tried to open his locker, it was understandable.

She pulled her legs up to her chest. In a way, Shuichi was really brave.

“Ah, right...” Shuichi suddenly said aloud. “I’m sorry, Kaede. I missed your piano lesson. I didn’t mean to.”

Kaede stared back wide eyed. Shuichi got caught by Gonta and was forced to participate in his ‘Insect Meet and Greet.’ It wasn’t even his choice. Yet here he was, apologizing to her for missing the promised lessons that she always looked forward to teaching him. He was too kind. She smiled and reached out to ruffled his hair. This action caught him completely off guard as he pulled his head back and placed his hand on his head. His face was bright red right now.

“C’mon! You don’t need to apologize! I completely understand. I was hiding myself. I couldn’t get to my lab even if I wanted to,” she reassured, disregarding what she just did to him. Shuichi let out a sigh of relief, looking away, embarrassed.

“Were you worried that I was gonna hate you for missing one day of practice?” Kaede joked. Shuichi on the other just tried to turn his head even further to hide his bright red face.

“Um... the thought did cross my mind...” he admitted, scratching his cheek.

She could only laugh. Shuichi really was too kindhearted. It wasn’t long before he started chuckling with her. After the tense situation, she was glad Shuichi and her could share a lighthearted moment. It was very comforting.

“Well, get that thought out of your head! You seriously need to relax more,” she chuckled.

Shuichi nodded, chuckling and relieved a bit. “Okay. Anyway, I owe you for getting us out of there. So, thanks.”

She smiled. Shuichi finally looked calm again. After that entire situation, it made her happy to see him smile and relaxed again.

“It’s no problem. I’m just glad you and everyone else were alright.”

Shuichi nodded, but his eyes widened and his smile started to falter. This caused Kaede to worry.

“Kokichi! He’s still out there!” He exclaimed, getting up on his feet in a panicked stated. Kaede got up a bit slower than him, unsure of what he was talking about. “He had Gonta lock everyone up in his lab so he could infiltrate our rooms! He’s planning on getting his hands on our motive videos!”

This grabbed Kaede’s attention immediately. “What? Are you serious?!”

But it made sense thinking back to what he just said. Kokichi mentioned something about ‘not being invited’ and ‘a screening party.’ At the time, Kaede simply thought that Kokichi was being his usual self and was lying. But now, after hearing what Shuichi had to say, all the previous questions she had before started to change into paranoia.

Kokichi was intending to follow through with his own beliefs and force everyone to watch each other’s motive video.

“Then we should go after him! The sooner the better! “ she concluded.

Shuichi nodded in agreement. He was a step ahead of her as he headed straight through the doors. Kaede ran close beside him, stopping right when Shuichi was turning the knob. He pushed the door wide open.

...Only to pull the door again. He didn’t close it shut, but he left it open only a crack to peer through.

“What’s wrong?” Kaede asked. She wanted to take action as soon as possible. Any second they waste would lead Kokichi closer to his goal. She couldn’t stand the idea of Kokichi actually winning and getting what he wants while everyone else suffers. There was no way she was going to let Kokichi get away with everything after what Shuichi and the others had to go through. She wanted to push through and find wherever the hell Kokichi was hiding.

However, she trusted Shuichi. Whatever reason Shuichi wanted to hold them back for couple seconds was always because there was something he noticed. Just like how Shuichi trusts Kaede, Kaede will continue to place her trust in him. Shuichi had to have some reason to keep them inside. This didn’t stop her from being curious though. So without warning, she ducked under Shuichi’s head and took a peek herself. Through the small crack, she could see why Shuichi was holding her back.

Down the hall she saw Gonta, fiery as usual, turning the corner to head to his lab. What caught Kaede’s immediate attention was a limp body on Gonta’s broad shoulders, struggling to escape.

“C’mon Gonta! Can’t we just negotiate? That’s what gentlemen do after all!”

Kaede recognized that voice. It was none other than Kokichi. She could see him slamming his fists on Gonta’s back despite his attempt to try and calmly negotiate with him, it was very contrasting with his polite and negotiable tone of voice versus his actions. The situation couldn’t be any worse for Kokichi. Yet, all Kaede did was watch indifferently as Gonta dragged Kokichi out of sight for the two. Shuichi cautiously pushed the door open to allow a greater view. No matter where they looked, there was no sign of danger sight. Kaede was the first to step out. Despite the overhanging, constant danger she felt throughout this night, she didn’t feel that same danger.

She heard the door close and Shuichi following after her, making sure that nothing bad was going to happen to her.

“That was Kokichi, right? Why was Gonta kidnapping him?” Kaede asked the detective. Kokichi was the one who orchestrated this whole thing. It doesn’t make sense why Gonta, who was working under him at the time would retaliate now.

Before Shuichi could formulate some sort of response that could explain everything, both of them picked up on someone calling them. Looking down the hallway, Kaede saw not one, but two people approaching. It was none other than Kaito and Keebo. Kaito was literally sprinting, eager to see the both of them while Keebo was lightly jogging behind them.

“Yo! Kaede! Shuichi! You both okay?!” he yelled as he ran up to them.

Shuichi was relieved to see a familiar face after being trapped in that bug infested lab. Kaede on the other hand wasn’t as happy to see Kaito. She just had her hands on her hips as she puffed her cheeks. She still couldn’t get over the fact that Kaito ditched her to deal with Kokichi knowing the chances of Kaito actually catching Kokichi were slim from the start. It was obvious that Kokichi was just messing with them just to ruin their plans. But it wasn’t obvious enough to Kaito.

Despite the fact that Kaede was pissed off at him for ditching, she didn’t have the energy to really vent at him. Also, Kaito looked so happy with the fact that Shuichi and the others were safe. It wouldn’t be fair for him to start scolding him at this very moment. She managed to get the others out of that horrifying bug hell, and in a way, Kokichi was apprehended. She’ll just have to remember to drill into his head to not act so impulsively.

“Yeah, we’re alright,” Shuichi responded quietly.

“Same here. Did something happen between Gonta and Kokichi?” Kaede asked.

Keebo stepped forth with a proud smile.

“Oh, that? I managed to convince Gonta of Kokichi’s misbehavior thanks to my secret weapon!”

“Secret weapon?” Kaede asked.

Keebo proceed to reach his hand to the side of his head where the ears would normally be on a person. When he placed his hand on what looked like to be a headphone, Kaede took a step back. She didn’t think it would explode or anything, but she did wonder if it was dangerous if it managed to get Gonta to side with the other students. She heard some high-pitched squeaking noises coming from Keebo’s head. She really hoped that it wasn’t something explosive. Keebo continued to adjust and fidget with the device on his head until she heard a click.

“Is this your doing, Kokichi? Did you have Gonta kidnap us?”

She jumped back at the voice coming from Keebo’s ear. Was that... Shuichi’s voice?

“Nee-hee-hee... he’s so simple-minded. As soon as I told him that everyone who hates bugs was trying to get rid of them he started crying, and said that he would get you guys to love bugs... or something like that.

The recording stopped there. Kaede just stared at Keebo with surprise across her face.

“Impressive, don’t you think?” Keebo grinned. He looked very proud of himself and that little function at that moment. Although the function itself wasn’t THAT impressive and she wasn’t sure if it deserved the title of a ‘secret weapon,’ she replied while trying to sound intrigued, how impressed she was at Keebo’s work. Keebo just took her compliments as if he was suddenly being showered with praise right now. Keebo was a proud person to say the least. Regardless, that one small function allowed this fiasco to finally end and even got Kokichi to lose at his own game. Just getting that little tidbit of revenge was enough to satisfy her and everyone else.

“While I was confronting Kokichi, Keebo happened to run into us,” Kaito explained and added, “Kokichi was pretty surprised to see Keebo. But shortly after that, Gonta came!”

Kaito was narrating excitedly like he was reciting the most momentous parts in a famous comic book. Kaede had to admit, seeing Kaito talk so excitedly about the events that happened on his end was intriguing Kaede.

“I thought it was over for me. But then, Keebo here played the recording and the tables turned on Kokichi!” he emphasized. He turned to Keebo, who was the highlight of this story and proceeded to ruffle his synthetic hair. Kaede wondered for a moment what Keebo’s hair felt like. Of course, the robot didn’t really appreciate the gesture much as he pushed Kaito’s hand off him. Nevertheless, he was pleased to know that he was the one who managed to save the day.

Kaede felt relieved that Kaito was safe and that Keebo managed to take control of the situation. But then, Keebo started to fall to his knees. On instinct, Kaede grabbed Keebo’s shoulders to stop his impact from the ground. Keebo settled with his knees on the floor.

“Keebo! Are you alright?!”

Shuichi and Kaito didn’t hesitate to kneel down and check on the exhausted looking robot. He shook his head.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry, my battery is just running low...” he explained, carefully picking himself off the floor. Kaede kept her hands on his shoulders, just to be safe.

“Using the recording function depletes a lot of my battery, so I try not to use it so much.”

Kaede just stared at him in puzzlement, letting her hands fall back at her sides. Hearing that statement baffled her.

“Dude, how could you lose all that electricity over using a recording function?” Kaito questioned in disbelief. He read Kaede’s thoughts exactly.

Keebo went on the defensive as he gripped his collar guard as he looked on in an irritated matter.

“I’ll have you know that the components that make up my recording functions are made completely out of metal! They are made of the highest quality. Hence why they use up so much electricity,” Keebo argued.

 _I don’t think the quality of the recorder is the real issue here. Also, if it used that much electricity, then it really shouldn’t be considered high quality..._ Kaede thought to herself. Just hearing that fact made Kaede take back everything about how impressive that device was in her head.

“Um, I think it’s best to call it a night. I’m sure everyone is equally exhausted...” Kaede decided to say to end this debate and taking into consideration of Keebo’s low battery.

Shuichi didn’t try to argue. He let his shoulders sag and sighed out. It was as if he could finally show how tired he really was.

“Yeah...”

“No arguments here,” Kaito agreed.

Keebo looked at the empty corridor that lead to Gonta’s lab.

“What about Kokichi? Is it okay to leave him alone?” Keebo questioned, despite how tired he sounded.

Shuichi simply shook his head.

“I don’t think we need to worry. We saw Gonta carrying Kokichi despite his protests. I don’t think Gonta will take his eyes off of Kokichi for a while,” he reassured. Although, Kaede could pick up something else in his voice. It sounded like satisfaction over the fact that Kokichi will get payback for everything he put everyone though. She couldn’t blame him. Kokichi needed to learn the repercussions of doing things that would only bring harm to everyone else.

Keebo nodded, looking relieved that he can finally relax.

“Then I’ll return to my dorm. I need to really recharge tonight.”

Keebo turned, trudging back to the stairs before anyone else. Kaito called out to ask if Keebo needed a shoulder to lean on, but Keebo shook off his offer, saying that he will be fine and that Kaito should head to bed as well.

Kaito turned to the two.

“Well I don’t know about you guys, but I’m beat. Whaddya say we hit the hay?” He offered.

Kaede didn’t argue. Both she and Shuichi followed Kaito, through the hall. As the walked, they happened to pass by the small hall that lead to Gonta’s lab. Kaede stopped to look down the musty hallway. It was a relief that they managed to thwart Kokichi’s plans today. Of course, seeing what he was capable of frightened her. Not to mention, everyone will now be wary around him, including her. If he could pull off a feat where he could manipulate a person to do his bidding or to stop any of the other students-

“Hey, Kaede! What are you staring at?”

Kaede turned and saw Kaito was the one who called out to her. Both the guys were waiting for her. She shook her thoughts out of her head. Even if Kokichi had more up his sleeve, they don’t need to worry about him now. If anything, it was Kokichi who had to worry as he was now dealing with the Ultimate Entomologist’s ‘Insect Meet and Greet.’

Without hesitation, Kaede walked over to both Kaito and Shuichi. She shouldn’t worry anymore. They managed to deal with the situation. Everyone was alright and Kokichi was currently being dealt with. All that was left to do was return to her dorm to get her well earned rest and await tomorrow. Tomorrow was the planned Magic Show after all.

With how better things got tonight, tomorrow could only be a good day.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Tomorrow could only be a good day' Kaede?  
> Oh... how wrong you are...


	16. Chapter 16

DING-DONG BING-BONG!

The sound of the school bell echoed through the entire academy.

As it continued to signal that the nighttime curfew was over, Kaede pulled the covers her head. It was an attempt to get a couple winks of sleep before she actually had to get up. She wasn’t really a morning person as she had a habit of staying up too late to play piano. This time though was because of the crazy events that happened yesterday. From creeping around the school with a lot of paranoia to sprinting away from danger, it wasn’t a surprise to Kaede that her body wanted to rest a tad bit longer.

But her attempt to get more sleep turned out to be futile as she heard the monitor in her room turn on. She grimaced as she knew what was gonna come next.

“RISE AND SHINE, URSINE!”

She was right.

“It is now 8 am!” Monosuke announced.

“Oh, already?!” Monotaro asked curiously.

“YES... DO-YOU-KNOW-WHAT-THAT-MEANS?” said Monodam.

“...Oh!”

Monophanie quickly pulled out what looked like some sort of red cloth and threw it over her head. The cloth flew up and out of view. The long red cloth then covered the entire screen. Kaede assumed that it somehow got on the camera. But as fast as it fell and settled on the camera, it was pulled off. Now the monitor displayed some sort of wild west scene of a face off. Monosuke had some sort of caveman garb while Monotaro had some sort of ninja outfit. Monophanie was in the background on a wooden porch. However, she was wearing some over the top ball gown.

The three bears were silent.

“Huh? I thought we was suppose to do a reenactment of a past?” Monosuke questioned.

“I heard this was suppose to be a royal harem?”

“Wait! Does that mean I need to take off this ninja costume that I spent all my savings on?!” panicked Monoaro.

Monophanie jumped as she covered her little dress with her paws.

“NO! I’d rather die than have to do one of those adult film tease shows!” she cried.

“Like I give a shit! I’m not gonna give up on my dreams to live like my pops!”

“Daddy never wore something so repulsive!”

“I will never strip off my ninja outfit ever again!”

The screen grayed, remaining motionless. Kaede wondered if this was the end of this weird charade was theirs. But Monodam’s voice spoke over the frozen scene.

“WHO-WILL-WIN-THE-CASTING? WILL-IT-BE-NINJA-MONOTARO? PRINCESS-MONOPHANIE? OR-CAVEMAN-MONOSUKE? TUNE-IN-NEXT-WEEK!”

The corner of the screen had a chopped up arrow with a chalky, dirty font spelling out ‘To be continued.’ The screen flickered off once more. All Kaede could do was give it a questioning look.

What the hell was that all about?

Kaede decided to not question it. After all, seeing the Monokubs do something stupid and weird as that wasn’t a shocker. They were just a bunch of weirdos.

Not to mention, Himiko’s Magic Show is today! Ever since Kaede met Himiko, she’d been dying to see her perform all sorts of tricks that only she could pull off. Before, she never really had the chance to see Himiko do much of anything because of her lazy nature.

Until today.

Kaede, still in her bed, stretched while on her back. She looked up at the lit ceiling. Seeing the dimly lit lights lightened Kaede’s mood more. She sat up in her own bed again. Her body was still having trouble waking up despite her looking forward to today. It may have been because of the exhausting day yesterday, but she’d thought that she would have recovered from her exhausted state after getting a good night’s sleep. Well, it’s not like she’d let her lack of rest stop her from enjoying the show.

She slid off her bed and headed to the closet again to get another uniform off the rack. She stripped off the one she wore to bed and put on what was possibly her tenth uniform. She pretty much lost track. She threw her dirty uniform in the corner of the room, deciding to wash them a bit later. After all that, she marched right out of her own room.

When Kaede opened the door, she saw that there was nobody around. It wasn’t surprising considering that Himiko announced that the magic show will start soon after the morning announcement. So everyone had to have already made their way to the gym. Without wasting a minute, Kaede strode out of the dormitory. She was greeted once again by the morning air and the sight of dew sparkling on the grass. It felt so weird that it was becoming routine to be greeted with the morning sights. It scared Kaede to think that she was already getting used to this place. She needed to get out of her. Her and her friends.

She balled her fists as she walked toward the main building like usual. Down the path, she saw Keebo way ahead of her, about to open the door. Kaede decided to call out to him. She was concerned for him since his nearly depleted battery incident. He looked okay, but she just wanted to make sure.

“Hey Keebo!”

The robot picked up on Kaede’s voice. He turned around and saw Kaede run up to him.

“Morning! How are you feeling? Is you’re battery okay?”

Keebo nodded, grinning while he put both his hands on his sides.

“I feel much better, thank you! My battery is back at 100%! I feel like a new man!” Keebo greeted with energy.

“Wait, you’re already fully recovered?” she asked. When she heard about how much electricity Keebo used for the recording function and how exhausted she looked from using it, she was surprised to see how full of energy Keebo was right now. She expected Keebo to have at least recovered enough to get through the day. But looking at him, he looked like he was never exhausted in the first place.

“Correct. The recording may be able to deplete a lot of my battery, but my battery is made of the highest quality!” He shared with a smile. It looked like he was happy to share tidbits of himself. “In fact, I can recharge so efficiently that it only takes about one night to get back to 100%.”

This impressed Kaede. To think that Keebo could recover so quickly in only one night. This was one of those times where Kaede was envious of the robot considering she still felt tired from last night.

“Anyway, I’m assuming you’re heading to the Himiko’s magic show, correct?”

“Yeah!”

“I see...”

Keebo looked distantly, lost in thought. Kaede wondered what was going on in Keebo’s mind.

“Something wrong?”

“Well, I still can’t shake off the thought of something bad happening,” he responded. He raised his index finger as he explained. “Kokichi went ahead with his plan when our guard was down. I’m worried that something bad could happen while we’re watching the magic show.”

Kaede gave a sympathetic smile. She could understand where Keebo was coming from. She was worried about the magic show too. She wasn’t just worried about the performers, but also what would happen while everyone else was busy in the gym watching. Kaede had to agree with what Keebo said yesterday. A magic show might not be the best idea at the time. But Kaede remembered how she helped set up. Both Himiko and Angie were eager to perform the show to help calm down everyone. She needed to consider their feelings.

“I understand how you feel Keebo. Believe me. But considering how uneasy everyone is right now, I think this may be the best for everyone,” Kaede tried to reassure.

Keebo nodded, but didn’t look too convinced. Kaede knew that she couldn’t completely calm Keebo down. She wished she could do more for her friends.

“In any case, let’s just head over to the gym. Despite the idea of performance at a time like this, I am curious as to what kind of show Himiko will have,” he simply stated.

Keebo turned on his heels and headed inside. Kaede took a small breath as she followed him inside the building. It was still calm as it always was in the morning. She wondered how the atmosphere could be so still when everyone here is participating in a killing game. It was like saying that nothing bad was happening even though every single day they were living in danger.

She shut her eyes. She can’t just continue letting negative thoughts control her. She was here right now to see Himiko’s magic show. There was no way she’d let anything stop her. Holding her head up high, she let her negative thoughts fly away as she made her way down the hall. As she walked over with conviction down the halls, she passed by the girl’s bathroom. She paused to get a look at it. It felt the ‘Insect Meet and Greet’ incident happened a long time ago. It was absolutely dreading from the fear of getting away from Gonta who looked really furious, to trying to save everyone else who were facing a literal hell.

If she hadn’t run inside the girl’s bathroom, she would have ended up as another victim. She really was lucky that day. Although, what she thought most about was meeting Kaito in there. Sure, it was shocking to see a guy hiding in a girl’s bathroom. But Kaito was there to give Kaede his support and confidence, as well as his kindness. She could never forget that.

He may be brash, but he was a really sweet guy underneath who believes in others. Including Kaede.

Despite the nightmarish time hiding in the bathroom from Gonta, she enjoyed getting to know Kaito better.

Kaede smiled as she resumed her stroll down the hall. As she was walking down, she wondered how the magic show will go. Sure, there was the frightening sword in the box, but Himiko already demonstrated that it was safe for her and she was sure that it would turn out okay. Not to mention, the other sets that Kaito and Kaede had brought to the gym didn’t seem dangerous. So knowing that Himiko had them under control made Kaede eager for the show.

All she could do was hope that no one else would take this distraction as an opportunity to do anything crazy.

As she passed the barred gate that lead to the gym, she spotted Kokichi, sneaking around in the halls. She just squeezed her eyes shut to resist the urge to groan. Kokichi was a troublemaker, but what he did yesterday had gone way too far. She wanted to avoid Kokichi so she didn’t need to deal with his unnecessary antics. But it looked inevitable. She just had to brace herself for whatever lies, guilt tripping, or harmful insults he had for her.

Without further ado, she walked into his line of sight. The supreme leader caught sight of her as he smiled and waved.

“Goooood morning, Kaede!” he greeted in a singy-song voice.

“Good morning, Kokichi. How are you feeling?” Kaede greeted, trying not to sound annoyed. Kokichi bore a wide grin as he held both his hands up to give a double thumbs up.

“Like shit!”

Kaede didn’t bother to reply to that as all she did was just give him a judgmental stare. She could only assume that Kokichi was talking about his experience with the ‘Insect Meet and Greet.’ His gesture looked like he was cheerful and was hoping for a happy day. Yet, his words made it sound like his entire facade was a lie. Not that it was surprising, but she didn’t want to play any more of his liar games.

She decided not to fall for his antics and just change the subject. “So, you’re going to watch Himiko’s magic show too?”

Kokichi smiled.

“Yeah, I figured why not? I mean, watching Himiko saw someone in half as a murder attempt will definitely lighten my day!”

This time, Kaede gave him a sharp, angry glare at him. She didn’t care if it was another fun lie of his. Treating a life like a source of entertainment was inexcusable. Kokichi caught Kaede’s look and snickered.

“Aww c’mon! Even you know that’s a lie, Kaede... Or am I lying?”

Kokichi spun on his heels and skipped towards the direction of the gym. He called out to Kaede, with his back to her.

“Welp, either way, I don’t think I’ll be bored.”

Kaede watched as he turned left, straight to the gym. She really wanted to get through to him somehow. But whatever she tried to say, she could see her words deflected off him as he just laughed it off like it was nothing, all while adding his little lies and insults. Honestly, Kokichi just upsets her.

But she decided to brush it off for now. Today, she was suppose to enjoy the show Himiko was kind enough to perform for everyone, not mull over all the impossible small things. She gave herself another light slap on the cheeks as she headed over to the gym. It was odd coming here now. Before, it was used to gather everyone for the flashback light and carry multiple props inside. Now it was used to relax and provide a source of entertainment. This thought was bizarre for Kaede. But it didn’t upset her.

_Okay! Here we go!_

Kaede pushed open the doors. Inside, she saw the stage now beautifully decorated with red curtains, many magic props, cute sparkly star decorations all over the stage, and other artistic looking banners across the stage saying ‘The Magnificent Himiko’s Magic Show.’

The two had really outdone themselves when it came to decorations. Kaede was speechless. She stared in awe as she marveled at the work Himiko and Angie put in. They really wanted to do this show. Kaede heard the doors shut behind her. It made her realize she looked like some sort of weirdo for just standing at the entrance and just staring. She made her way towards the tiny crowd that gathered around in front of the stage. In the crowd, she saw Keebo and Kokichi like she expected since they walked ahead of her already. She also saw Shuichi, Tsumugi, and Tenko waiting around. On stage, she saw Himiko and Angie chatting on stage. It sounded like they were talking about the show.

There were other conversations she was hearing in the group below the stage. They were chatting about this and that while they were waiting for the show. She heard Tenko make a sudden outburst.

“Why are you even here, Kokichi?!”

“Huh? What do you mean ‘why?’ I’m here to enjoy the show!”

Kaede looked to see that Tenko and Kokichi were having their skirmish amongst the group.

“I highly doubt that! I bet you’re planning on doing something terrible! A degenerate male like you is always scheming something!” she accused.

Kokichi looked frightened as he stepped away from her.

“What?! Me?! I would NEVER do anything to hurt anyone!” he argued innocently. A bit too innocently for both Kaede and Tenko’s taste.

Kaede decided to just leave Tenko and Kokichi be and walked over to Shuichi who was engaged in a conversation with Keebo. Just by looking at the two, Keebo looked like he was bragging about his variety of functions while Shuichi just politely listened. When Shuichi saw Kaede coming from the side, he waved her over. Kaede wasn’t one to ignore an invitation, so she walked over to where the two were.

“Hey, morning Shuichi!” Kaede greeted as she approached them.

“Good morning, Kaede,” Shuichi greeted back with a smile.

“I see you’re here early. How long were you waiting?”

Shuichi gave a rough estimate of five minutes.

“I’m sure Himiko is doing some last minute preparations since Gonta took both Angie and Himiko unexpectedly. I also think that they’re waiting for the the others to arrive here,” Shuichi explained. Just leave it to Shuichi to explain any situation.

“Well, while we’re waiting for everyone else to arrive, Kaede, would you like to hear about my other functions? I was just about to show Shuichi my drying function!” Keebo offered proudly.

Kaede didn’t know what that was, but it did strike her curiosity. So she agreed to learn more about Keebo. Needless to say, it wasn’t as interesting as she thought it would be. The drying function weirded her out. Or actually, it was his weird loud exhaling sound that he made that weirded her out. Other than that, most of the functions that Keebo showed off were pretty generic.

“What do think? Quite intricate! Don’t you think?” Keebo asked. But it was obvious he was fishing for praise.

Kaede didn’t really know how to respond. Should she try to say how impressed at his plain functions, or just be honest and say that it wasn’t really that great? She didn’t have a chance to reply as she heard the doors open once more. Peering over her shoulder, she saw Gonta, Kiyo, and Miu enter together. Counting the performers on stage, that made a total of eleven people.

That left Kirumi, Kaito, Maki, and Ryoma.

She wondered how long it would take for Kaito to get here and if Ryoma would show up. Kaito wouldn’t want to miss this show since he looked eager to see it. Especially after getting a sneak peek of Himiko's sword trick. She wasn’t sure about Ryoma, considering he was a bit of a loner. But she hoped that he’d show up anyway. She also wondered if Kirumi would show up considering she always worked for the sake of others. And then there was Maki. Kaede couldn’t think of a reason she would come. This made her both worried and relieved at the same time.

Kaede didn’t have much time to think about other things when Angie called the audience for their attention. Angie waved with both her hands to show her excitement.

“Atua is grateful that you are granting an audience with Him!” Angie first stated.

Kaede just sighed. Can’t Angie not mention her god in every sentence that comes out of her mouth? Tenko didn’t seem to like the fact that Angie was addressing her god in her opening speech, but decided to stay quiet. After all, she was more focused on seeing Himiko perform.

“Huh? Gonta thought everyone was watching Himiko’s magic show?” Gonta asked, who had gotten confused from Angie’s opening.

“It is, don’t worry, Gonta. Angie’s just being Angie,” Tsumugi reassured to the gentle giant. Kaede was glad to see that Gonta returned to his normal state. Seeing Gonta, the freakishly muscular man, chasing everyone in what looked almost like a rage fit was terrifying enough to give anyone nightmares. Looked like he wasn’t gonna plan another ‘Insect Meet and Greet’ anytime soon.

Angie then presented the star with jazz hands who was now center stage. “Now behold and marvel at the amazing, the marvelous, and the magnificent Himiko!”

While Angie looked excited and pleased with the show starting, Himiko looked like a trembling leaf as Kaede could see Himiko shaking and her movements were stiff as if she were somehow trying to thaw out from her frozen state.

“I-I, Himiko Yumeno, will p-perform m-my first trick.”

She sidestepped to show the large blue box. Kaede recognized that box. It was the same large box that Kaito and Kaede first brought in. The box was the trick that Himiko performed where multiple swords were stabbed into the side of the box, yet the person inside would come out unscathed. So she was going to start with that daring trick first? Kaede knew that Himiko could performed the trick and showed that it was harmless, but Kaede was still worried about her.

Kaede looked behind and realized that the few absent people were still not here. She really wanted the others to come to enjoy the show. Especially if the first part of the show would make you sit on the edge of your seat.

“I will enter my famed s-sword box a-and A-Angie will stab into the box. I-I will cast m-my famed intangibility spell and c-come out without a scratch...” Himiko attempted to raise her arms up in excitement to engage her audience. Of course, it would have been more convincing if she raised her arms all the way instead of having them still bent and wasn’t still shaking.

She turned around and cautiously stepped into the open box. She turned herself around in the box so she was facing her audience, not that it mattered as Angie skipped over and closed the box shut.

“Nya-ha-ha! Now I shall gather the swords!”

Angie walked near the back of the stage and picked up the black case. The same black case that held all the real swords. Angie carried the case back to the front of the stage. She set it down and plopped down in front of it. Looking closely, Kaede noticed that Angie was fishing for something in her pocket. Angie managed to find whatever it was in her yellow jacket pocket. It was small as it was balled around her fist. Kaede couldn’t see what was in her hand. Angie moved her hand over to the latch of the case. After a few moments, Kaede heard a click and the sound of metal clattering on the ground. After that, she lifted the lid open. Kaede let out a sigh of relief. It looked like Angie took Kaede’s advice of locking the box.

Angie then held up one of the swords, letting the light reflect off of it.

“Now take a look at this! This sword is 100% real. No tricks or gimmicks! And now...”

Angie turned to face the standing box.

“I shall stab the box with Himiko still inside!”

Angie bounced over to the side of the box. She lifted the sword to prepare for it to penetrate straight into the box. Beside her, Kaede heard someone gulp. She looked and realized it was Shuichi. He looked really engaged with the show, but he looked more nervous than Himiko herself. She wondered if Shuichi knew the trick behind the sword box considering he was a detective. Then again, Shuichi didn’t seem like the type to spoil the trick himself. She looked down at his hand. She wanted to reach out and reassure him that it would turn out fine and exciting. But she couldn’t muster up the courage to do that. The fact that Shuichi was able to grab her hand that day sort of frustrated her. Albeit, it was during a dangerous situation and he just wanted to keep Kaede safe, but it still didn’t appease her.

Kaede decided to ignore it and just focus on enjoying the show.

“Himiko! Are you ready?”

After a couple of seconds of silence, a shaky voice replying ‘ready’ came out of the box. Angie carefully slid the sword though the box. Kaede watched as the sword slid deeper until she saw it appear on the other side of the box. She heard some people gasp and yelp in surprise to see just one sword go though the box. She could see Tenko spazzing out as she began worrying over Himiko’s safety.

“HIMIKO! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! OH MY GOD! ANSWER ME!” Tenko screamed in panic.

Angie didn’t bother to respond to Tenko’s panic as she grabbed the next sword. Even while Angie was grabbing the next set of swords, Kaede was puzzled for a moment. When Himiko demonstrated to both Kaito and Kaede, she responded. Although it was just a loud prayer to Angie’s god, she did let them know that she was okay. This caused Kaede to worry. She tried to convince herself that she was staying silent for the sake of the show. But this did little to alleviate her fears.

The show proceeded as normal for Angie as she cautioned Himiko each time that she was about to pierce the box with another sword. Throughout the procedure, the audience never heard Himiko’s voice once. Kaede felt her teeth chatter as she watched the show. If anything, this was filling her with dread than with excitement. What if something happened to Himiko? Kaede doubts that she died in there but she did wonder if she was hurt.

She looked over her other classmates and saw they all wore the same nervous expressions she did.

But Kaede didn’t have time to say anything as Angie was the first to speak.

“Okay! I shall proceed to removed the swords!” She announced loudly with a smile. With that, she carefully started pulling out the swords one at a time.

“Holy shit! You don’t think she’s like a human shish kabab now, do you?” Miu asked the other people behind her.

“Um... I hope not. But Himiko is the Ultimate Magician, right? I’m sure it’s fine. I think,” Tsumugi attempted to reassure.

“Right! Himiko use magic. She be okay!” Gonta tried to convince himself. But Kaede could tell that this did not help the Ultimate Entomologist.

“I’m sure Himiko is fine. If something should happen, she would have let us know,” Kiyo reasoned.

For once, Tenko took a male's words as she screamed out to the stage. “HIMIKO! IF YOU’RE FINE, SAY SOMETHING! _ANYTHING!_ PLEASE!”

Yet, despite Tenko’s pleas, there was no response. Tenko started trembling. Kaede decided to help calm her down as she placed her hand on Tenko’s shoulder.

“Tenko, it’s gonna be okay. Himiko will come out alright. I’ve seen it myself. Besides, she also already has so many other things to perform for us today,” Kaede tried to reassure.

Tenko looked at Kaede and saw a glow in her eyes, trying to cheer Tenko up. She nodded and looked back to the stage. She didn’t seem completely convinced though. Tenko wanted to see Himiko alright with her own eyes. Kaede pulled her hand off Tenko and turned her attention back to the stage and saw that Angie was pulling out the last sword. Angie let the last sword clatter with the other swords in the pile.

“And now, for the moment Atua has been waiting for!” Angie announced with her arms spread out in fanfare.

“No! It’s suppose to be the moment WE’VE been waiting for!” Tenko corrected angrily out loud. She really didn’t like Angie and her talk of this ‘Atua.’ Then again, Angie talking about her god was peeving Kaede a bit too.

Not bothering to respond to Tenko, Angie stood next to the tall box and stood on her toes to remove the top. Kaede remembered that once the top was removed, the rest of the box would collapse and Himiko will be there standing. She watched as Angie managed to pull off the top. She could see the sides of the box ready to fall down.

“And now, when I remove the top... you will see-”

She swung her arm to show off the finale. Kaede expected to see Himiko standing there in her glory. But instead, something else happened.

She saw Himiko lying on top of the front side of the box face down, not moving. Kaede was internally freaking out. Why was Himiko just lying there? She didn’t look like she was injured from the sword trick.

Angie looked perplexedly at Himiko.

“...Himiko?”

The audience was starting to worry.

“Uh, is Himiko okay?”

“Himiko not moving...”

“I’m sure it’s just the witch bitch teasing us! She is teasing... right?”

Despite the audience voicing their concern, there was no response whatsoever from the magician. This was the last straw for Tenko as she jumped on the situation.

“Hold on, Himiko! I’ll-”

Tenko never got the chance to rush over to Himiko’s side, or even finish her sentence. There was a burst of white smoke that exploded on the stage and covered the entire gym. Everyone screamed at the sudden explosion of white smoke as it spread and obscured their vision. Kaede could hear panicked screams all around her. But no matter where she looked, all she saw was white. The smoke was to thick for her to see anyone else. She couldn't even see her own hands.

This ended up causing a frenzy.

“Wh-what’s going on?!”

“I can’t see a fucking thing!”

“Is this *cough* part of the show?!”

*THUD!*

“WAAAH! Oh no! I can’t believe we’re gonna die! I never left a wiiiilllll!”

“It okay! Gonta will protect everyone!”

“Quick! Someone get the doors! We need to blow the smoke away!”

Kaede could barely see anything but she started to notice that she could see through it better. Then visibility changed from thick smoke to something similar to thick fog. Still hard to see, but not completely blind. From the distance, she could make out the gym doors. They were now open. She could also see two figures with some sort of cloth. They were pushing the smoke out of the doors using their jackets as a make shift fan. It took a while, but Kaede could see better again. She looked back to check on the audience members. They all looked bewildered from that sudden experience, but they didn’t look hurt.

However, Kaede’s world froze as an earth shattering scream exploded in the gym. Kaede turned and saw Tsumugi with a traumatized face. She was shaking, covering her mouth as she looked on the stage. Kaede faced the stage and saw the reason for Tsumugi scream.

She didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t want to think that her worst case scenario would come true. But Kaede had forgotten. This wasn’t her normal world. She was in a dangerous prison and had to face the reality in here.

Sitting on the stage was a bloody corpse of Himiko Yumeno, with a sword plunged straight through her back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry Himiko fans... I know everyone loves the little mage... but...


	17. Chapter 17

DING DONG, DING DONG~

The monitor turned on, cutting through the morbid ambiance. Monokuma appeared, surrounded by luxury foods.

“A body has been discovered! Everyone please gather in the gym,” Monokuma announced.

The monitor shut off as soon as it turned on.

Kaede was paralyzed. She made a promise to herself to not let anyone die. She made a promise to protect everyone and get them out of here. Yet, Himiko was gone, never to be with anyone else ever again. Kaede’s promise had been shattered when she laid eyes on Himiko’s bloody corpse.

_How did this happen?_

Kaede had let a dear friend of hers die. It all happened right in front of her. She knew that doing that sword trick was dangerous, even though Himiko showed that she could do it. Yet, this happened. She let this happen.

_It’s all my fault..._

**_“HIMIKO!!!”_ **

Those cries echoed loudly in the gym as Kaede watched Tenko sprint right up the stage, vaulted over the steps, and ran up to Himiko’s side. She froze when she found herself standing in front of her corpse. Tenko’s knees collided to the ground.

“This is one of your magic spells, right? You manipulated the monitors and you’re now going to reappear a-okay, right? You can’t be dead...” Tenko spoke to the body. She hoped that she could get some sort of response. She hoped that Himiko will somehow appear somewhere else, alive. She hoped that something would happen and her friend would come back to her usual lazy self.

But nothing changed. Himiko’s corpse was still there, leaking out blood over the ground.

Tenko stayed still for a long time, not wavering as the slow realization of it not being a magic trick came trickling in. In that final moment, she lost control of her emotions. She let out a loud wail as an endless number of tears started streaming out of her eyes. She covered her face. She couldn’t say anything coherent even if she wanted to from her loud wails. But she chose not to. What could she say? All she did was continue bawling out as the friend that she admired most was now gone.

Kaede felt so helpless. But she couldn’t just leave Tenko alone like this. This was the moment Tenko needed some sort of support. So, mustering whatever courage she could, Kaede began to slowly walk towards the stage. She moved past her paralyzed friends who were too shocked to move. Kaede made her way up to the stage where the crying Aikido master was sitting. Kaede squat down to touch Tenko’s shoulder.

“Tenko...”

Despite Kaede’s touch, this didn’t stop Tenko’s cries. All Kaede could do was let Tenko know she was here. She watched as Tenko sobbed all over herself. She was clearly heartbroken. Kaede bit inside her cheek. She not only let a friend die, but she let someone get hurt in the process from her failure. She let these negative thoughts take over as Tenko's sobs echoed.

Kaede looked over to her right to check on Angie. Angie was closest to Himiko after all, she had to be just as traumatized and broken as Tenko. But Kaede saw Angie in her prayer pose, looking indifferent. Kaede was confused. Angie was praying to her god at a time like this? Kaede just sighed and decided to give her the benefit of doubt by believing that she was praying for Himiko’s sake. This whole thing couldn’t have NOT shaken her too.

Kaede wondered if she should comfort Angie too when she heard the doors slam open. She pulled her head up at the gym entrance to see the doors now swung way out to the side. She saw Kaito right over there. He looked exhausted and was panting heavily. Right behind him was Kirumi who looked out of breath too, but still maintained her elegant posture.

“What happened?!” Kaito screamed in panic. “I heard the announcement and...”

He stopped talking when he saw what was on the stage. He looked horrified while Kirumi looked aghast as she covered her mouth and averted her eyes.

“H-Himiko?!” Kaito screamed out. He curled his fists in frustration as it started to sink in that one of his friends was killed. “Dammit!”

Kirumi managed to regain her composure as she tried to calmly assess the situation. But it was clear on her face that it was disturbing her.

“This is truly unfortunate. Especially when I promised as a maid to protect each and every one of you.”

It wasn’t long before Maki and Ryoma came through the doors. Unlike Katio and Kirumi, they noticed the dead body on stage the moment they entered.

Ryoma looked stunned for a brief moment, but then let out a quiet breath while pulling his hat down to hide his downcast eyes.

Maki on the other hand-

“...So it happened,” was all she said in the entire situation. Kaede was shaken by how empty Maki’s words were. One of her friends just died and yet she showed no empathy whatsoever. She turned away from her. Kaede wanted to believe that even if Maki was cold, she’d at least care if someone she actually knew lost their life. Then again, Kaede shouldn’t be so shocked. Maki was the Ultimate Assassin. She wouldn’t care if a person was killed.

When everyone was present in the gym, Monokuma appeared in the gym, standing before the stage around the other students.

“I see that everyone’s here! Now we can get this investigation underway!” he cheered happily. Kaede gritted her teeth. She hated how gleeful he sounded when someone just lost a life. Especially when that was his entire goal. He didn’t care nor show any guilt over Himiko’s lost life. He just stood there laughing at it all like it was comedy.

“YOU!”

Tenko jumped up on her feet, which took Kaede by complete surprise. She watched as Tenko leap down the stage to confront the headmaster himself.

“You did this! You killed Himiko, didn’t you?!” she snarled at the bear while pointing at him. Hot tears were still streaming down her face, but this didn’t hide the obvious rage she had toward him. She looked furious enough to take on Monokuma right then and there despite the serious repercussions of fighting him. Monokuma however, just looked peeved despite Tenko’s furious threat from her current haywire of emotions.

He shook his head disappointingly. “Have you read the rules at all? The rules clearly state that I am not allowed to directly commit murder.”

“Then you _indirectly_ killed her! You probably tampered with Himiko’s magical set and caused her to die! I WON’T EVER FORGIVE YOU!”

She got in her fighting stance, ready to fight Monokuma. But just before she could even make the first move, four exisals appeared in front of Monokuma, acting as his shield.

“Hey, hey, hey! You really want to attack pops?!” the mechanical exisal threatened.

“IT-IS-OUR-DUTY-TO-PROTECT-OUR-FAMILY-AND-MAINTAIN-HARMONY,” the exisal on the far right replied.

“It’s also against the rules to hurt daddy! I don’t want to get violent... but I don’t want any harm to come to daddy!”

“Yeah! So you should put down your fighting gloves and focus on the investigation!”

Tenko growled angrily as the frustration of not being able to avenge her dead friend overcame her. She shut her eyes and let her arms limply fall to her sides in defeat, but she wasn’t gonna let herself lose.

Monokuma snickered. “Now that’s more like it! Students should listen to their headmaster.”

“I won’t ever forgive you, you hear me?!” She roared.

Not a moment too soon, one of the hatches of the exisals opened and Monosuke jumped out.

“Hey, if youse has so much energy, use it to find the culprit!” he chastised.

In no time flat, the other Monokubs started opening the hatches of their exisals and jumped out with their brother.

Monotaro spoke with him, “Yeah! You need to figure out which one of you guys killed the redhead.”

Kaede’s world stopped. So it was true. Himiko didn’t just die. She was murdered. And the one who was responsible for her murder was a person inside this very gym. She didn’t want to believe it. She wanted to still have a reason to believe in all her friends and escape together. She didn’t want to believe that person out there that she considered a friend could ever harm another one of her friends. But she had to face the facts. Based on what Monokuma was saying and the situation behind this whole killing game, one of her friends murdered Himiko.

Monokuma started his little charade.

“My cubs are right. You guys need to figure out which one murdered poor, innocent Himiko-”

“Don’t you talk about Himiko like that! You have no right!” Tenko threatened. She got in her fighting pose once again to emphasize her threat. But Kaede could still see tears brimming in her eyes.

“HEY! SHUT UP! Let me finish you ungrateful brat! Anyway, you guys need to start the investigation. So without further ado...”

Monokuma pulled out the monochrome pad that Kaede was already familiar with. She’s seen it before in the first murder after all.

“It’s the Monokuma file!” he presented it in style as the pad reflected the gym lights off the shiny black and white cover. It looked like it was glowing. Monokuma proceeded to set it on the ground as an indicator for someone to pick it up. Monokuma brushed his dusty paws on his large torso.

“I wish you guys the best on this investigation and whatnot.”

With that conclusion and his ‘gift,’ he disappeared without a trace. Kaede assumed that he was preparing the courtroom. There was no use in denying it. They were gonna have that fatal class trial to determine who killed Himiko. The place Kaede wanted nothing to do with ever again.

“I guess we should go to...” Monophanie mused.

Her brothers nodded together as the left with their ‘so long bear well’ jingle. This now left only the remaining fourteen students.

Kaede gulped. Even though she’d been through this already, it was completely different. In the first trial, she knew from the start who the culprit was and the trick as to how Rantaro died. But this time, she was completely in the dark just like everyone else. She had no idea who killed Himiko nor how they did it.

She didn’t know what to do.

For once she felt so... lost.

But she didn’t linger in emotional limbo for long when she heard a laugh. She recognized that laugh anywhere as she turned around to the source.

“Looks like I was right! I didn’t get bored! Now let’s start investigating!” laughed the supreme leader.

Kaede just had about enough. She didn’t want to hear from anyone else to do this investigation. To continue playing what Monokuma call a game. It infuriated Kaede that Monokuma was forcing the others to do his bidding. It made it worse when Kokichi agreed to play with Monokuma just because it would entertain him.

While Kaede forced herself to bottle up her fury towards him, Tenko didn’t hesitate to take out her rage on the degenerate male.

“You filthy, degenerate, heartless, childish male! How dare you! Himiko just died and you have the nerve to call this entertainment?!” she screamed.

She was boiling with rage now. Her emotions were now all over the place. But it wasn’t just Tenko who was all over the place. Everyone else was at a loss on what to do. They were all over the place too. Kaede grit her teeth and shut her eyes in grimace.

She hated this. She hated this more than anything. She wished that they weren’t trapped in this killing game. She wished that Himiko didn’t have to die. She wished that Monokuma would just vanish off the face of the earth. But they were here. Trapped in this god forsaken prison, forced to play by his rules. She had to be a leader right now. As much as she hated to do this.

“I hate this more than anything too. But Kokichi has a point. We can’t just leave things as they are. Pretty soon, we’ll be forced to participate in another class trial. If we don’t investigate, we’ll die. And I don’t want that to happen to anyone,” Kaede spoke out.

Shuichi stepped forth.

“Kaede is right. Like it or not, Monokuma is going to force us to participate in the class trial. If we can’t find Himiko’s perpetrator, then we’ll all be executed.”

Tenko was silent, her tears still pouring and her teeth still clenched from frustration and guilt. Everyone else was reluctant to quickly step in and investigate. Kaito however, despite taking a second or two to take in both Kaede’s and Shuichi’s words, spoke up.

“Yeah! I agree. We need to investigate. I want to find out what happened to Himiko. So let’s do this! We can’t just ignore this!”

Kaito slammed his fist into his palm to emphasize his point. Kaede wondered how Kaito always had a way to get through to everyone just through his words alone. When Kaede wanted to get through to a person, she needed to have her trusty piano to get her message though. Kaito seemed like the type of person who could get his message across with his trusty personality as well as his forward mind set. In a way, his encouragement was infectious.

From the looks of it, Kaito’s words once again reached through everyone again. Tenko was the first to respond to his words.

“Yeah. I want to know who did this to Himiko. I need to know!”

From the looks of things, everyone was ready to investigate. To find the truth behind Himiko’s death.

The Ultimate Caregiver, or rather, the Ultimate Assassin had other plans.

“In that case, I’ll just be on my way.”

She turned on her heels, ready to head head out through the gym doors.

Kaito was the first to respond to Maki’s sudden declaration. “Hold on Maki! You can’t just leave! We need to investigate!”

“It doesn’t say in the rules that it’s mandatory to investigate. You’ll be fine without me.”

With that, Maki briskly left through the doors, leaving everyone in a stunned silence. Kaede could just not believe what Maki just said. How could she just leave them to investigate on their own? Maki truly was being selfish.

Kirumi sighed, “This is truly irresponsible of her.”

“So that bitch is just leaving us to do all the dirty work? I bet she’s just going to her room to touch herself as we speak!” Miu snarled as she made the sexual joke.

Kaede just shook her head disappointingly. She really wanted to believe in Maki. She wanted to believe that Maki was just misunderstood. But now, Kaede was second-guessing herself.

Shuichi decided to take the reins in this situation, “We can worry about Maki later. For now, we need to focus on the investigation.”

“Alright, then let’s try and figure this out,” Kaede announced. She leapt down from the stage as Shuichi walked over to pick up the Monokuma file. Kaede didn’t expect any less from Shuichi than to start with Monokuma’s autopsy. As much as she wanted to take his words with a grain of salt, Monokuma looked like he was required to follow the rules. So by tampering with evidence, including the Monokuma file, it would break the rules and cause everyone to rebel for a good reason.

Shuichi pressed his finger on the on button as Kaede looked over his shoulder to read what was written in the Monokuma file. The pad lit up in a matter of seconds. It showed a picture of Himiko’s dead body, sitting on the stage as well as a diagram as to where she suffered the killing blow. She swallowed. Even though she already saw her corpse already, she still wasn’t ready to accept the fact that Himiko was really gone. It didn’t help that they were going to read more details about her death and were doing it for the sake of their own survival. She did her best to maintain her composure as Shuichi read aloud the autopsy.

“The victim was Himiko Yumeno, the Ultimate Magician. She died at 8:12am from a fatal blow through the back, which pierced through her lungs, causing her to die instantaneously,” he read aloud. Kaede could tell that Shuichi was uncomfortable about all this. His lips were pressed in a firm line after he read all that.

Kaede thought for a bit. Now that they knew her cause of death, they needed to answer the other questions.

“We should probably investigate the stage. That’s where Himiko was most likely attacked...” she concluded.

Shuichi nodded.

“Alright. I’ll do my best to assist you.”

Kaede was startled by this. She knew that she still had Shuichi trust ever since he proved his undying faith towards her, but still, to think it would go as far as trusting her in this investigation too.

“Really? Thanks, Shuichi. You’re the greatest friend anyone could ask for,” Kaede thanked.

Shuichi just smiled bashfully as he lead the way as he made his way up the stage with Kaede tagging behind. On the stage, Kaede saw the magic props were left untouched. Never to be used for this performance or ever again. This hurt the girl more than ever. Kirumi was now there along with Kiyo and Tenko. They looked like they were conducting their own investigation. Angie on the other hand was still standing on the stage where she was when she first discovered Himiko’s body. She was even still praying.

On the stage was Himiko’s bloody body, the now collapsed box, the two piles of swords cluttered underneath the sides of the box, and the black case that originally held the swords. They were left as they were. Even though Kaede was one of the first to encourage the investigation, she felt numb to the idea of examining Himiko’s body.

Shuichi noticed Kaede’s hesitation and gave her words of comfort.

“Hey, Kaede, if you want, we can investigate the other areas first. We don’t need to investigate Himiko right away,” he assured.

Kaede wanted to shake her head and say that she was fine and say that she needed to do this. But she couldn’t do it. Her words were trapped in her throat. She couldn’t get them out. And she knew why. She was frightened. She didn’t want to examine Himiko’s dead body and realize how lifeless it was. She thought she’d be able to do it after seeing Rantaro’s body. After all, seeing a body that you know were responsible for killing had to be the biggest wake up call. Yet, she just couldn’t do it.

Succumbing to her fears, she nodded, “Yeah, I would like that.”

Now she just felt helpless and weak. Why would she let her fears get to her like this? In actuality, she knew why, and that frustrated her even more. Shuichi didn’t argue as they decided to look at the other things on the stage.

“We can try examining the box the swords were in and the swords. We should also gather everyone’s alibis while we’re at it.”

Kaede didn’t argue. Shuichi was really taking the lead when it came to investigations. No wonder he was given the title ‘Ultimate Detective.’ They decided to start with the black case.

“I remember carrying this case during the preparations. It contained all the swords for the show,” Kaede informed Shuichi.

“I see...” Shuichi simply replied as he examined the box. He was thoroughly examining it as he tried to press his fingers around the case, opening and closing the case. Kaede watched in fascination as he worked his magic. She wondered for a minute if detectives were always this thorough when it came to examining small object, or if Shuichi secretly wanted to discover some sort of secret hatch since this came from the Ultimate Magician’s lab.

He set the case down, concluding that there was nothing suspicious about the case itself. Kaede was sort of disappointed that there wasn’t some sort of secret compartment inside. Shuichi moved on as he began looking around the area around the case. Both Kaede’s and Shuichi’s eyes caught something in front it. Sitting there was a tiny golden lock. Shuichi didn’t waste a second as he picked it up.

“A lock?”

Kaede remembered she mentioned to Angie to get a lock to make sure that the swords wouldn’t end up in the wrong hands. So much for that.

“Yeah, I told Angie that she should lock the case to protect everyone. I didn’t think she’d follow through with it,” Kaede explained, but was upset about how little that worked.

“Is Angie the only one who had the key? Were there multiple keys?” he asked.

She never pondered at such a possibility. It was possible there were multiple keys or the single key was entrusted to someone else. Considering this, it would be a vital clue to figure out who had the key during the time of the murder and if there were multiple keys.

“I don’t know. To be honest, I just made the suggestion. I don’t know if Angie had multiple keys entrusted to other people,” she admitted.

“Then we should ask Angie about it.”

Kaede nodded as she looked over her shoulder to check on Angie. She was still praying to her god. This was getting tiring really fast. She may be devout, but this was going too far. She needed to help and take this investigation seriously. Not pray to her god to wish them luck or whatever. She’ll just have to question Angie about the show. So, she got up and approached the devout foreigner.

“Angie, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

The devout artist didn’t even bother to reply to Kaede. All she did was continue to pray. She could even hear Angie humming something. Maybe a quiet chant. Either way, the way she was behaving would not help anyone. Kaede needed Angie’s testimony. This was a matter of life and death after all.

“Angie! Hey! We just want to ask you something! We’re not suspicious of you or anything,” Kaede said with more force. If they were going to survive this trial, they needed Angie’s cooperation. But Angie continued to remained silent. How on earth was Kaede suppose to get through to her?

Just as Kaede was about to give up and try searching somewhere else, she picked on Shuichi walking towards her. He walked up to the praying artist.

“Angie, we simply want to know what happened to Himiko. If you’re uncomfortable then I’ll only ask you one thing. It’s about the lock and key on the case.”

All that answered was silence. Kaede was about to suggest her idea to leave Angie when something happened that caught her completely by surprise.

“Atua says I should talk about the lock and key.”

This was completely unexpected. Not only was Angie finally speaking to them, but was now going to lend her support to Shuichi. Kaede was marveled with Shuichi’s persuasion. Shuichi had his own way of getting through to people. That was impressive to Kaede.

“Alright, can I ask where you got the key?” Shuichi interrogated.

“Of course, of course! I obtained it from the warehouse,” she replied while bouncing up and down. Kaede thought about this info. She didn’t get the lock from Himiko’s lab? She got it from the warehouse? If so, then that means anyone could have obtained the same copy of a lock and key. It could be possible that someone took another package of the lock and key.

“I see... and were there multiple keys?” the detective questioned.

“Nope! Just one. And I had it the entire time!”

She admitted that pretty fast... So only Angie had the key to the lock at the time of the murder?

“But couldn’t someone have taken the same model of the lock and key from the warehouse and use that key for your lock, Angie?” Kaede asked.

“Nope! I got an exclusive lock and key!”

With those words, she pulled out the key to let Shuichi and Kaede have a look. Looking at its teeth, the were weirdly shaped for a key. It looked like each indent had a Monokuma head each. Or maybe it was each of the Monokubs’ heads. It didn’t really matter either way. “This key and lock are one of a kind. The lock is designed to open only its designated key.”

Kaede pondered at that fact. So no one else could have opened the case prior to the show other than Angie.

“Now then, I must resume my prayer to Atua. I must make sure Himiko makes a safe pilgrimage into His arms.”

“Wait Angie, was there any moment you left the key unattended?” Kaede tried to ask.

But it was too late. Angie had already returned to praying to her god. There was no way she’d come back to earth now.

Kaede groaned. From the looks of it, they weren’t going to get any more testimony out of her. She let out a big sigh. Either this was Angie’s way of grieving for Himiko, or she was completely turning to escapism. Most likely the latter half.

“Don’t worry about it, Kaede. Despite it being a small about of info, we were able to gain valuable testimony. Now we know for a fact that it was an exclusive key that only Angie had during the murder.”

Kaede nodded. Even though they managed to obtain some important information from Angie, she wished they could get more from her. But that was probably wishing too much knowing Angie and how she had a weird traditions.

“For now, why don’t we look around? We should try and examine everything on stage,” he informed.

Shuichi was right. They needed to go through everything else. She shouldn’t get so caught up with trying to get every single little detail from Angie when there was other things they had to do. There was so much to do and so little time. Kaede nodded and decided to get a closer look at the area where the collapsed box was. Other than the front side which was where Himiko’s body was, the others were left alone. Or at least, they would be left alone if they weren’t hitting something that was preventing them from sitting flat on the ground. Kaede wondered what it was preventing them from lying on the ground.

Out of curiosity, Kaede headed towards the back end of the collapsed box. She picked it up to peek what was lying underneath. Under the side, she saw some sort of weird mechanism. Curious as to what this weird object was, she grabbed it and dragged it out from under. As she finally managed to pull out the said object, she could get a better look at it now that it was in the light. But just because it was in the light, it didn’t help Kaede what on earth it was.

It looked like some sort of weird box with some sort of tubes sticking out on each face, similar to what looked like an exhaust pipes.

Kaede tried to pick up the tiny metallic box to inspect it further. But she had no luck identifying what this weird thing was. Was it another one of Himiko’s tricks that she was planning later for the show? Kaede wished Himiko wasn’t dead and the show could continue like everyone wanted.

“What is it you’re looking at, Kaede?”

She looked up and realized it was Shuichi talking. She held out the item to the detective in hopes of him being able to figure it out.

“To be honest, I have no idea. It looks like a part of Himiko’s show. I found it sitting underneath the sides of the sword box.”

Kaede watched as the detective inspected it in close detail. Watching him work was really fascinating. It was almost like watching the process of music coming to life. Shuichi let out a small sigh as he put the strange object back in Kaede hands.

“It does look like some sort of mechanism for Himiko’s show. But I have no clue as to what it may be. I do think it is important though, since it was found near the crime scene,” he reported.

Kaede nodded, making a mental note to remember this information during the trial. She gazed at the other parts of the box that were also sitting on top of something. This time, Kaede had a feeling that she knew what it was under the sides. She picked up one of the sides and saw that her guess was correct. Sitting underneath were the pile of swords that Angie pulled out from the sword box. Kaede counted in her head and got five swords. She heard some sounds across from her and saw Shuichi doing the same thing as well. Kaede decided to inform Shuichi about her findings.

“There are swords under here. I counted five.”

Shuichi nodded, “Same.”

His then turned to the sides of the box. From the look in his eyes, she could see that he managed to pick up on something.

“There seem to be some cut-outs on the side.”

This was news to her. Kaede focused on the box as well. Turns out, there were cut-outs on her sides too. They didn’t look like they were just caused by the sword. It looked too perfect. Almost like they were cut out ahead of time. They were cut at an angle too.

“Huh...” It was all Kaede could really say. She never really noticed it when Kaito and her were fetching it. Nor did she notice it when Himiko was showing them a sneak peek of her trick.

“I never noticed...”

“I think I can explain that.” Shuichi pointed around the base of the box. There, Kaede noticed some blocks colored the same as the box.

“I believe they were placed in the cut-outs to hide them. Then when Angie inserted the swords, she intentionally pushed them inside the box. I think it was meant to hide it. That could also explain why the box was made to collapse so the audience wouldn’t notice,” he explained.

This explained a lot. She never saw any holes on the box. With that question answered, she just had one more.

She looked at Shuichi, who was looking at the swords. “Why are they cut at an angle?”

Shuichi was quick to answer. “It’s to avoid the person from getting pierced.”

Kaede was surprised and puzzled at what Shuichi meant. He noticed and proceeded to explain. “Basically, the performer wants to create the illusion of the sword going through the person. But in reality, they go at an angle to not harm the person in the box. I think these cut-outs are used to help guide them in.”

Kaede sighed. “Aww, a part of me wanted to believe that it was really magic, or something cooler...” she pouted. But she didn’t have time to pout over magic tricks. She jumped ahead with the conversation, “Do you think that somehow the cut-outs were tampered with and the sword actually killed her?”

She saw Shuichi cover his mouth and look distantly. She recognized that look as him in deep thought, pondering the possibility.

“That doesn’t seem very likely. The cut-outs don’t look like they’ve been tampered with, and the Monokuma file didn’t mention any other wounds on Himiko.”

Kaede nodded. “But we should probably check, just to be sure.”

Shuichi agreed as he continued looking around the small area. Kaede glanced around the area. But other than the things they found, nothing was sticking out in Kaede’s eyes. She decided to get the detective’s input.

“Anything you notice, Shuichi?”

Shuichi stayed silent for a while. But spoke up. “Well, there are a total of ten swords. Angie removed the swords and the sides fell on top of the swords. Also, there are a total of ten cut-outs. Five on each side.”

Kaede pondered. So no one could’ve used the swords to kill Himiko. If they did, then the sword used would have ended up on top rather than underneath the side. Not to mention, all ten swords were accounted for. But this begged the question.

“If there were only ten swords in this set, where did they get the one that killed Himiko?”

Shuichi looked over at Himiko’s body, specifically at the sword that pierced in Himiko.

“The only conclusion I can draw is that the sword used to kill Himiko came from some other place.” Shuichi replied solemnly. He looked upset that he couldn’t add more input than that.

Kaede wasn’t gonna let Shuichi feel disappointed with himself. She gave him her signature pumped fists with a grin. “Hey, don’t worry! We’ve already learned a lot. We’ll figure it out!”

Shuichi smiled, looking a bit better.

There wasn’t much left to look at now. All that was left was to examine Himiko’s body. Kaede wanted to put it off for as long as she possibly could. But she knew that they were running out of time. If they were going to figure out the culprit, they had to examine her body. She cautiously crept over to where the body was lying. Kaede had no reason to retain caution. It wasn’t like Himiko was gonna turn into a zombie and attack her. But she didn’t like the idea of approaching a body, knowing that it was her friend at one point.

Swallowing her fear down her throat, she knelt down right by Himiko’s side. She was lifeless like expected. But a part of had desperately hoped that somehow, she’d show signs of being still alive. Even the smallest signs, like twitching or even a sudden gasp for air. But there was nothing. Kaede sighed. No one should have to experience seeing a friend die before their eyes. No one.

Shuichi followed her suit and knelt down on the other side of her body. He proceeded to do what ever he could to get further details on her body.

“It looks like the Monokuma file is correct once again. I don’t see any other wounds on Himiko’s body other than the one on her back.”

Kaede watched as Shuichi performed his own little autopsy of his own. Kaede brought her focus to the sword. Unlike all the other ones in from the show, this was slightly larger and had a silver hilt rather than any of the golden ones sitting on the two piles.

“I don’t recognize that sword. Do you think it came from a different set in Himiko’s lab?” Kaede asked.

“It is a possibility, we should remember to check it out.”

Kaede nodded. She had to remember that the sword was not the same as the other ones used for the show. That meant someone had to have brought it ahead of time. This begged the next question, who was the one brought the sword?

While Shuichi continued to further examine Himiko’s body in case there was something they overlooked, Kaede looked around her body. She wasn’t sure she could help Shuichi in his autopsy. Not to mention, she just couldn’t bring herself to look at Himiko than she already has. She really felt helpless. She looked down, lost in her own thoughts. It was there that she noticed something. Some sort of weird looking strand. It was shiny looking. She assumed it was white, thick hair, but looking closely, it wasn’t the case.

Kaede reached out and handled it between her thumb and forefinger. Now dangling it in front of her face, it clearly wasn’t hair. It looked like some sort of tough string. What was something like this doing on the corner of the front flap? Was this suppose to help with Himiko’s trick? But in Shuichi’s explanation of the trick, any sort of string was never mentioned.

“Hey Shuichi, what’s this string for?”

Shuichi looked up. At first, he looked calm and expected it to be answered with a word or two. But when he laid eyes on the suspicious looking string, his eyes squinted, confused about it presence near the crime scene.

“That’s fishing line... Kaede, where did you find it?” he asked. It looked like Shuichi had no clue as to why it was here. This was something clearly important that they needed to learn.

Kaede pointed over to the corner of the box. “I found it right over... there...”

Kaede paused when she pointed out where she discovered the object. When she first found it, her eyes were only transfixed to the out of place string. But now looking at the spot again, she realized something she overlooked. In the corner of the box, she saw a small hole. Shuichi noticed her hesitation and looked over to where she was pointing. It went without saying that he noticed it soon too.

“I wonder...” he mumbled.

Kaede looked over and saw him inspect the edge of the front side from the other side. He looked both from the top end to the back. He then placed his hand over his mouth in thought.

“There are two other holes on this side. Both are on the corners of the box. From the looks on your end, we can assume the same thing.” he quickly concluded.

Kaede was amazed at his quick deduction. Although, she probably would’ve caught on eventually. She wondered if they were relevant to the case. They could just be holes that held the front side in place while the box was together and standing up. But it might be a good idea for her to make a mental note of their existence.

Now there was possibly nothing else that needed examining on the stage. Kaede gave it one more look over, just in case. Her eyes then caught on the curtain drawn window. She wondered if the culprit attacked Himiko from there and escaped.

“Hey Shuichi?”

Shuichi looked up from his little examination. Kaede pointed towards the window. Shuichi looked to where she was pointing.

“Do you think that the culprit used the window?”

“I... don’t think so. The window is pretty high up. It would be difficult and time consuming for the culprit to enter and exit through the window.”

Kaede thought over Shuichi’s words. The chances of the culprit coming through the window are pretty slim. But the fact that there even IS a possibility, even if it’s small, is something Kaede couldn’t look over.

“I still think we should check over it. Just to be safe,” Kaede replied.

Shuichi didn’t even argue. It was like he was finally accepting his role of being the Ultimate Detective seeing how he’s not leaving any stone unturned.

Of course, like Shuichi said, it was too high for either of them to reach. So even if she wanted to investigate up there, it would practically be impossible. Kaede took the next course of action and decided to look for something to help her climb up and further examine it. Considering there were banners hanging near the ceiling, Angie or Kirumi had to have some sort of tool to reach up there. It wasn’t long before her eyes caught on what it was that could have used to help them decorate the stage above. There was a ladder sitting off to the side.

_Ah! I can probably use that!_

Kaede quickly got up and rushed over to get the ladder, leaving Shuichi on stage. As soon as Kaede was in front of the ladder, she placed both her hands on the each sides of the rungs. When she felt the cold metal in her palms, she froze.

This felt way too similar. Too similar to her first murder attempt.

It was just like when she pushed the ladder to the vent in the library that day. The vent that played a major role in her murder attempt. She remembered her strong resolve to protect her friends. But also the endless guilt she felt when she was lying behind Shuichi’s back. How she had to pretend that she was helping Shuichi when in reality she scheming something in the dark.

She never wanted to think back on that day ever again. But no matter how far she traveled towards her future, that moment in her past will always haunt her.

But she shook her head. This time, she wasn’t doing this to plan any sort of murder. Instead, she was using it to solve a murder.

Steeling her resolve, she picked up the ladder, surprised how light it was than she expected. She carried it all the way from against the wall, below the stage to onstage.

This really did feel like when Shuichi and her were setting up his trap. Moving the ladder to investigate really brought back those memories. Of course, this time, it won’t exactly turn out the same way like last time.

“Hey, Shuichi! You’re up!” she called out to him.

Shuichi, who was preoccupied with his own little investigation jumped when Kaede called him out so suddenly. He whipped his head up at Kaede in surprise.

“Wait what?!”

“You’re gonna investigate the window, of course!,” she replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

He just looked at her in disbelief and confusion. He hadn’t expect Kaede to thrust this responsibility on him so suddenly. To think Kaede would do that to him of all people.

“What?! Why me?!” he said as Kaede set the ladder down.

“Because...” a cheeky grin appeared on her face as she faced him, “We don’t want to repeat what happened in the library. Do we?”

Shuichi didn’t understand the context at first. But once it clicked in, the realization of why Kaede was making him do it hit him like a ton of bricks as a bright streak of pink started glowing across his face.

“Y-yeah! Uh, no! I mean... right...” he stammered quickly as he made hastily his way to the ladder. Kaede was glad Shuichi managed to catch on without her need to explain it. It would’ve been awkward if she had to in front of other people.

Shuichi scrambled up the rungs of the ladder until he could properly reach the window.

While Shuichi investigated around the window, Kaede thought it would be a good time to gather some testimony. On stage, Kirumi was doing her best to comfort Tenko, who was still in distraught. Kiyo was fiddling around with his medals, gazing at the body. Kaede wondered if he was thinking of something. Kaede had to acknowledge him in a way. Even though he was creepy in the way he worshiped humanity, he was still very logical.

The first matter of business was to talk to Kirumi. During the time of the murder, Kirumi was nowhere in the gym. Kaede needed to know where she was during that time. Kaede quickly called Kirumi’s name. After Kirumi exchanged a word or two with the Aikido master, she approached Kaede.

“Yes, Kaede? How may I help you?”

Kaede replied, “Well, I was wondering if you could tell me where you were during the time of the murder.”

Kaede hoped that this wouldn’t be another Angie situation where she’d just end up refusing to answer Kaede. Kaede wondered if the reason Angie didn’t want to be interrogated by her was because she didn’t trust her or something more. But luckily, Kirumi didn’t show any sign of hiding anything from her as she simply curtsied.

“You wish to hear my alibi? Very well. During the show, I was making breakfast for everyone.”

Kaede pondered a bit.

“Can you prove that you were in the kitchen?”

“I can vouch for Kirumi’s testimony.”

Kaede nearly jumped when Kiyo decided to jump in on the conversation.

“Yesterday, I was reading a special book from the library about mummification in different tribes...”

_Did not need to hear that part..._

“I was reading in the dining hall until Gonta came to... have me participate in his... event...”

Kaede could tell that even though Kiyo was trying his best to be polite and phrase it the gentlest way possible. But Kiyo was still showing signs of trauma in his face through his mask. Kaede had no idea Kiyo could get traumatized.

“During my untimely imprisonment, my book was abandoned in the dining hall. I wished to retrieve it, but unfortunately, circumstances prevented myself from doing such, as the nighttime announcement aired. Left without any other choice, I had to return to my dorm and simply await for the dawn. It was an ordeal waiting for such a lengthy period of time."

_Wait, did he stay up ALL night because he didn’t have his book!?_

Kiyo continued, not commenting on Kaede’s bugging eyes, “After the said announcement, I visited the dining hall to retrieve my book. While doing so, I heard Kirumi preparing breakfast as she normally does for her morning ritual. I believe she was blending something.”

“Ah, perhaps it was when I was making Angie’s special drink. Her customs are quite fascinating,” Kirumi added.

Kaede did recall Kiyo coming in late during the show. Most likely, that was when he had to make that detour to retrieve his reading material. But putting those two facts together, Kirumi had a solid alibi.

“I would like to also add that once I finished making breakfast, I wished to sweep the patio. I had a broom in my room so I headed to the dorms. It was then that I heard the Body Discovery Announcement and ran into Kaito.”

Kaede just sighed. Kirumi was planning on doing more work rather than watch the show. Seriously, how far did her selfless devotion go? But regardless, she had to confirm that tidbit with Kaito.

“Alright, thank you for your help, both of you.”

“Of course. It is my duty as a maid to serve each and everyone of you.”

“I’m glad I could lend my cooperation.”

Kaede watched as the two returned to what they were previously doing. All that was left was to get other alibis from Kaito, Ryoma, and Maki. At this point, she decided to go back to helping Shuichi. Just as she was about to turn and check on him, sunlight began leaking onto the stage. Kaede had to shield her eyes from the harsh light. Through the bright light, she could see Shuichi opened the curtains and was looking at the window. He really was trying to be thorough in his investigation. Taking a step further with his task, he gave the window a firm push as an attempt to open. She saw him stumble forward from how easily the window opened but managed to regain his balance in a matter of seconds.

“Huh, it looks like the window can easily be opened,” Shuichi called out to Kaede. This really did feel like the time in the library...

Shuichi leaned over the window to get a look at the pool side.

“It doesn’t look like anyone managed to get in here from the poolside. There’s no trace of it being scaled and I don’t see any nearby objects that could be used to possibly reach the window from the pool. Even with the ladder on the stage, I can barely make it to the window.”

“I see...”

Kaede thought it might have been that the culprit slipped into the gym through the window with the smoke as cover. But if reaching it from the poolside and back was impossible, then chances are, the culprit didn’t climb through the window. That leaves the people who attended Himiko’s magic show. They were the most likely culprits.

“Huh?”

Kaede could hear Shuichi’s confused voice from above.

“Is something wrong, Shuichi?” Kaede asked the detective.

“There seem to be some abrasion marks on the top of the window frame. But only at the top...” he responded.

This was new to the pianist. Abrasion marks? Why would they be there? Is it possible that this was related to Himiko’s trick? Or possibly the murder?

In any case, there was nothing left for Shuichi to examine up there. Shuichi cautiously made his way down the ladder as Kaede walked up to greet him on the ground. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he looked at the ladder again. He covered his mouth as he pondered for a bit.

“Is something wrong, Shuichi?”

Shuichi stayed silent for a while before turning back to Kaede.

“Kaede, may I ask where you got the ladder?”

Kaede tilted her head. Shuichi probably wanted to know where she got it from to put it back. But she couldn’t help but get the feeling that there was more to it than that.

“I got it from over there.” Kaede pointed to where she had gotten it, which was to the left, below the stage. “Why do you ask?”

It took some time before Shuichi answered. But he stopped wandering in his own thoughts and replied, “I think we should make a note as to where it was at the beginning of the show. Just in case.”

Kaede had no idea where Shuichi was going with this, but nodded. Whatever it was, it had to be important if he was saying so.

“I don’t think there’s anything else that we need to investigate here. I think we covered everything here,” the detective concluded.

Kaede gave the area one more look over. But like he said, there was nothing else that was out of place that they hadn’t examined.

“So, what should we do?” she asked the detective.

“There are other places that I want to investigate. There’s Himiko’s lab, Himiko’s room, and the pool. We should also try and gather testimonies from Kaito, Kirumi, Ryoma, and Maki.”

“I managed to get Kirumi’s!”

She proceeded to report to him about what both Kirumi and Kiyo told her. Both about the kitchen and Kirumi heading to her dorm.

“I see. We should still confirm with Kaito about the last bit. But from what I can tell, Kirumi has an alibi.”

Kaede was glad that they managed to whittle down the number of suspects through their investigation. She didn’t want to suspect more than before.

“Now, let’s investigate the other areas. Hopefully, it’ll help us pinpoint the culprit,” Shuichi concluded as he turned his head to the door.

Kaede nodded. They’ve come so far with this investigation, there’s no way they’re going to stop. Kaede needed to find out who would do this to Himiko. For both Himiko’s and everyone’s sake.

“Yeah, let’s.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing investigations is HAAAAARRRRRRDDDDD... I kept getting paranoid over if I got everything down or not... I forget stuff easily so yeah...  
> I can see why it took V3 over a few years to complete...


	18. Chapter 18

Shuichi decided that the next best course of action was to investigate somewhere else. As he made his way out of the gym Kaede tagged closely to him. Since Himiko’s lab was closer to them, it would be best to investigate there next. From what clues they managed to gather from the gym, Himiko was killed sometime during the smokescreen. Considering that the window was inaccessible, that only left the people who came to the gym to watch Himiko’s performance.

Not counting Angie, who was the magician’s assistant at that time, the people who were present in the gym were himself, Keebo, Tenko, Gonta, Kokichi, Miu, and...

_Kaede..._

He shook that thought out of his head. Even though Kaede was a possible suspect, he didn’t want to believe that she would be the culprit after her the effort she put to protect her classmates and how hard she was working to earn their trust back. Not to mention, Kaede regretted attempting to murder, even though it was to take out the mastermind. He knew that she never wanted to do something like that ever again.

As a friend, he’ll continue to protect her and place his undying faith in her. He had no reason to put such a large amount of blind faith in her. He only knew Kaede for a few days and saw how caring she was towards others, including Shuichi. She even went as far as to take a risk to stop the mastermind to save everyone else.

But as a detective... Kaede was part of the list of suspects because she came to the gym. Albeit, she wasn’t high on the list, but still.

Shuichi mentally cursed. Why was he given this Ultimate talent when it’s only useful during a friend’s death or to suspect somebody? Why was he given a talent like this? All his talent did was cause suffering upon himself and others.

“Alright, so first order of business is to investigate Himiko’s lab, right?”

This made Shuichi jump out of his thoughts and brought him back to the outside world. He turned and saw that Kaede was looking at him, expecting an answer. His hand went to reach for his hat to hide his embarrassment from being in his head for so long, but froze in midair when he remembered that the source that hid him from the rest of the world wasn’t sitting on his head anymore. He let his hand fall to his side again, hoping Kaede didn’t pick up on his little habit again.

“Y-yeah,” he stuttered quickly squeezed his lips shut, hoping that her Ultimate Pianist’s ears didn’t pick up on how startled he sounded.

However, today just wasn’t his day.

Kaede managed to pick up on Shuichi’s nervousness as she asked, “Hey, is something up?”

Shuichi quickly shook his head. He shouldn’t burden her with his problems on top her own overwhelming ones.

“No, I was just going over the facts over my head. Sorry for not paying attention.”

Kaede just gave a reassuring smile to him.

“Don’t worry. But remember, you can ask me for help too. Just like what you said to me, I’ll do my best to help you too!”

He paused, but then smiled. He was really blessed to have such a wonderful friend he could trust. And he was so grateful that he was able to save Kaede from that first trial. He didn't know what he'd do without her.

Not wasting a second, Kaede ran up front to get face to face with Shuichi. Now, he could see Kaede’s determined smile once again. He doesn’t know how, but her smile always made him more confident. It was like she was sharing her determination with him.

“Alright! Let’s do this! I want to find out what happened to Himiko more than anything.”

Shuichi saw that her smile faltered when she said Himiko’s name. Shuichi realized at that small moment that she wasn’t at her usual determined self. No, she was forcing a brave face again. This time, it was to help encourage Shuichi through this predicament despite Himiko’s death weighing heavily on her shoulders too. She probably saw through Shuichi's attempt to try and hide his uncertainty and chose to help him through this and ignore her own feelings.

Shuichi’s jaw tightened.

_Why? Why does she think about other people and not herself? Why can’t she be more selfish?_

Just as he was about to reach out to her, Kaede ran ahead to Himiko’s lab. Shuichi sighed, as much as he wanted to help Kaede through this, their first priority was to investigate and gather as much information as possible before the dreaded class trial.

He took a breath before following after her toward Himiko’s lab. If they needed to look for any sort of hint, this was the best place to start. He pursued Kaede, entering the hidden hallway while Kaede was already at the door to the Ultimate Magician’s lab. As soon as she opened it just only a crack, Shuichi could hear two voices inside. It sounded like they were arguing.

“Can’t you take this seriously?!”

“I am serious! See!? SERIOUS KOKICHI... ACTIVATE!”

There was a brief moment of silence before Shuichi heard stiff footfalls.

“See?! _VERY_ serious!” the voice replied in a serious but somehow sarcastic manner.

“My god...” groaned the voice.

Shuichi immediately recognized those voices. It was none other than Kaito and Kokichi. From the sound of it, Kokichi was messing around as usual while Kaito was scolding him. Shuichi wouldn’t be surprised to see Kokichi acting like a failure of a mature child while Kaito was pinching the bridge of his nose. Shuichi caught up with Kaede, who was peeking through the crack to understand the context. The confused look on her face told him that she couldn’t grasp the situation between those two. Then again, any situation with Kokichi in it made any situation difficult to understand.

Shuichi decided to take lead as he pushed open the door. And his deduction was right. Kokichi was acting like a poor version of a mature child, while Kaito as clearly frustrated as he pinched the bridge of his nose while squeezing his eyes shut, groaning.

Despite this weird situation these two have created, the atmosphere quickly dissipated when Kaito and Kokichi heard the detective come in. Now Shuichi was in the spotlight.

“Oh hey, Shuichi! Kaede! What’s up?” Kaito asked with a smile on his face. It looked he was trying to brush off recent skirmish between him and Kokichi.

“Oh uh, Kaede and I just need to investigate in here. The sword that was... used to kill Himiko... is different from the other swords that were used for the magic show. So we wanted to see if there’s another one like it. I also want to check to see if there’s another sword box. I would like to test something.”

“We also want to hear what you were doing this morning, Kaito.” Kaede added.

Kaito scratched the back of his head, “My alibi, huh? Well, I was in knocking on Ryoma’s door shortly after the morning announcement. I figured I could give him another chance to try and cooperate with us. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in his room. I had a gut feeling he wasn’t at the show so I started looking around for him. I didn’t get to do much searching though. I heard the body discovery announcement and... well... you know the rest.”

This left a quiet silence. Shuichi could only imagine how much of a shock it had been for Kaito. Just like Kaede, he strongly believed in his friends and wanted to protect them no matter what. When Kaito heard the announcement and ran into the gym to find out the announcement wasn’t some sort of lie, he could only imagine the frightened and guilty thoughts that were running through Kaito’s mind. Shuichi understood how he felt. No, not just Kaito, but everyone else. He didn’t want to believe that a friend of theirs died. He didn’t want to believe that one of them actually killed. But they all had to face the facts. One of them killed Himiko and they had to figure out who.

There was just one other clue that Shuichi needed to confirm.

“One other thing, Kaito?”

The astronaut lifted his head from his hurt moment. Shuichi quickly apologized for bringing up an uncomfortable topic, but pressed on, “Kirumi mentioned that she ran into you outside. Is this true?”

If Kaito could confirm Kirumi’s statement, then this would provide more validity to Kirumi’s testimony. Kaito scratched his goatee, lost in thought for a bit.

“Oh yeah. I did run into Kirumi. It was shortly after the announcement. I saw her outside and we ran together to the gym.”

Kokichi just snickered at Kaito’s statement. “Well that’s obvious, Shuichi! We saw Kaito and Kirumi enter the gym together! I can’t believe you had to ask that, you big dummy!”

From the sound it, Kokichi was mocking him for asking what looked like a dumb question, especially since he had the title of the Ultimate Detective. Kokichi can insult him all he wants. All Shuichi wanted was to find out if Kirumi’s statement was valid. Seeing how Kaito could vouch for Kirumi post body discovery announcement showed that Kirumi wasn’t lying in her testimony.

Of course, he couldn’t really confirm Kaito’s validity before he ran into Kirumi. If he ran into another person, that’s one thing. But judging from his statement, it sounded like he didn’t run into anyone.

An audible gasp was heard nearby.

“Wait a minute! Kaito! You were alone?! Does that mean... you killed Himiko?!” Kokichi screeched in shock. His eyes were completely wide in faux terror as he stared at Kaito.

Kaito did not like hearing that at all. “NO! I would never do something like that! We are not in the mood for your jokes, so shut up!” he boomed angrily.

“Not to mention, it would have been difficult for Kaito to have murder Himiko. Kaito was completely absent during the show and I already confirmed that it would be difficult for anyone to enter through the window. So it’s unlikely for Kaito or anyone else absent during the show to have killed Himiko,” Shuichi added. Even though Kokichi was a troublemaker, he seems to be smarter than he let’s on. From the little facts he scrapped about Kokichi, he seemed like the type to listen only to reason than be appealed by pathos. So if Kaito couldn’t convince Kokichi with emotions, then that left Shuichi to convince him with logic. It did do something to Kokichi’s behavior. He changed from his playful demeanor to a interested one. Not one that focused on a real life issue, but one that looked of a naive child as he slipped out a quiet yet audible, “Huh...”

The quiet lingered a bit until Kaede asked her next question.

“What about you, Kokichi?”

All this did was cause Kokichi to tilt his head in a confused manner.

“Huh? Whaddya mean? I was with you guys at the show!” he scolded at her childishly. But from the look of his eyes, Kokichi knew that Kaede was talking about something else.

“I’m talking about what you were doing last night. What was your real motive for having Gonta kidnap everyone? Was it really to just get your hands on everyone’s motive video or...”

Another audible gasp came out of Kokichi’s lips as his hands covered his cheeks in faux shock once again as he looked like he was about to cry.

“Wh-what? Kaede? Are you saying... you think... I’M the culprit?” he whimpered in a frightened manner. He looked so frightened that he looked like he would be ready to bolt. Even though Shuichi knew that Kokichi was just lying through his lips.

Kaede looked like she knew he was trying to jerk around with her emotions as she stood firmly and calmly replied, “I don’t think you’re the culprit. But I do want to know what you were doing. Your actions were suspicious.”

Shuichi had to agree. Kokichi’s actions that night were suspicious, especially since they took place the day before the murder. Kokichi was right now at a corner thanks to Kaede’s questioning. Despite all this, Kokichi was grinning. Was he... enjoying this?

“Oh, well why didn’t you say so?” All he did was chuckle out loud. Shuichi resisted the urge to groan. Dealing with Kokichi, no matter what it was was a guarantee to drain you of your energy and waste your time. He snickered again as he decided to answer Kaede.

“I had Gonta kidnap- I mean, ‘invite’ everyone to his little bug party.”

Shuichi didn’t know why Kokichi was still trying to hide the fact that he manipulated Gonta. Pretty much everyone knew that Kokichi was the one who purposefully schemed all of this.

“-I just wanted to get everyone’s motive videos like I planned. But...”

Kokichi paused. At that point, Shuichi wondered if Kokichi was planning on hiding some sort of fact from them. He IS a liar, so chances are, he wouldn’t tell them the entire truth or even fabricate something. Shuichi made sure to keep that in mind when Kokichi gives his account.

“I ran into Kirumi! And she scolded me...”

...Okay, that was unexpected. Either Kokichi suddenly became bad at lying or this bizarre fact actually happened.

“Kirumi was scolding me for some time. But boy, were her words were like daggers... She might’ve hurt my feelings...”

Now Kokichi looked like he was ready to cry. Shuichi groaned out loud, ignoring the fact that he sounded rude just now.

“So, I decided to end her scolding and request her to play tag with me!” he cheered.

...Now Shuichi believed he was just messing with them. Shuichi was about to insist that Kokichi takes this interrogation seriously when Kaede interrupted him. She looked like she was in disbelief. Did she... actually believe him?

“So... you really were... playing tag with Kirumi...” Kaede managed to say. When Shuichi looked at her face, she saw how troubled she looked. Almost like, she was trying to sink it in as the actual truth.

Kokichi nodded excitedly. “Yup! Best game of tag by the way! Kaito and Kirumi gave me a big challenge!”

This time it was Kaito’s turn to groan out loud. Shuichi noticed his hand covering his face. From the looks of things, they probably witnessed it themselves but didn’t really believe it or question it at that time.

“Of course, they made it really challenging to collect the videos. And on top of that, Gonta and Kee-boy came! So in the end, nothing changed!” he announced loudly. Yet he was wearing a wide grin across his face. Almost like he didn’t care about that outcome. Of course, that whole act was most likely a lie. It was possible that he could have stolen some of the motive videos.

Despite this ending up being some sort of wacky story Kokichi pulled from his crazy brain, there was some facts that Shuichi managed to gather from Kokichi. He and Gonta were working together. Gonta was trapping everyone in his lab while Kokichi decided to infiltrate everyone’s rooms to take their motive videos. During that time Kokichi ran into Kirumi and eventually Kaito. They chased him during the Insect Meet and Greet and eventually, Keebo and Gonta ran into him. At that point, Keebo managed to convince Gonta of Kokichi’s true intentions.

Going over those facts, the ones Gonta managed to capture were himself, Himiko, Angie, Miu, Keebo, Kiyo, and Tenko. The ones who were able to avoid Gonta besides Kokichi at that time were Kaito, Kaede, Kirumi, Ryoma, and Maki. Even if Kokichi was being pursued by two other Ultimates, did he still manage to get the videos?

No. That doesn’t matter right now. Right now, they needed to focus on the murder.

But it wouldn’t hurt to keep in mind of everyone’s whereabouts that night...

He had a feeling that it could play a bigger role later.

Shuichi looked over and saw that Kaede looked somewhat satisfied with what little info she manged to get. From what he could tell, Kaede might have a reason to believe in Kokichi’s words. Perhaps she saw him at some point. She did manage to escape from Gonta after all.

Either way, now that those two things were out of the way, Kaede and Shuichi had much bigger fish to fry. The first was to locate the murder weapon and understand Himiko’s magic trick. Shuichi did a quick look over of the entire lab. As his eyes scanned over all the weird knickknacks, his eyes landed on a rectangular box. It was covered in some sort of cloth, but Shuichi recognized the color and shape underneath. He didn’t waste anytime as he made his way over the objects to his destination. When his hand could reach to the cloth, he gripped on to it tightly and pulled it off. It was just like he thought. It was the exact same box that Himiko stepped into.

He lifted it up, surprised at how light it was. But the real challenge was maneuvering through all of the magic props while carrying such a large object. It was weird for him to step in all the random open spots as it put him into funny and sometimes uncomfortable positions. It felt like he was playing some weird version of twister but you have to carry an object larger than your body. It wasn’t something the detective was used to as he found himself stumbling awkwardly in this chaotic Magician’s lab.

But then, he felt the box become lighter and more evenly balanced. This helped Shuichi maintain his normal posture.

“Dude, you don’t have to do everything by yourself. If you need help, just say so.”

Shuichi recognized the voice to be none other than Kaito. He helped guide the box so Shuichi didn’t have to stumble around like usual through the small obstacles. He smiled, but it’s not like Kaito would be able to see considering he was on the other side of the box. As soon as they got to a wider space in the lab, the two guys set it carefully set it down.

“Whoa, there’s a second one?”

That was Kaede’s voice now. Shuichi had a feeling that no one would notice at first glance. It was covered with a thick cloth that looked like part of another trick. It would have been easy to miss if you were just glancing over the room.

“Do you think that there’s another set of swords for this one?” Kaede questioned with a curious look.

That was a possibility. He had a feeling he knew where she was going with. But he instantly removed that thought.

“Most likely. But I don’t think it has anything to do with the murder. I didn’t see any case out, so finding it would be difficult in a cluttered area like this. Thus, it probably didn’t play any sort of role. Also, the sword used to kill Himiko was larger and had a golden hilt. I doubt it was from the other set,” he quickly concluded.

Kaede nodded, now focusing on the box itself along with Kokichi.

“So, is there a reason you brought the box out?” she asked.

“I figured we should try and recreate the trick. I didn’t want to disturb the crime scene, so I thought I could replicate it in her lab. I’ll admit that it’s not the most accurate, but...”

“Good thinking, Shuichi!”

The detective jumped at the sudden compliment from the pianist. He didn’t even get a chance to finish his sentence. But that was probably the reason she interrupted. She didn’t want to give him a chance to doubt himself. It was just like her to watch out for others like that.

“Of course, we need the swords. I don’t know where the other set is, so-”

This was where Kaito decided to step in.

“Leave that to me! I’ll head over to the crime scene and see if I can get those swords.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Kaede followed Kaito as he was turning to leave.

“Most likely Tenko will be there with Himiko... So if there’s a male who is going to do something to the crime scene...”

It didn’t take Kaito long to pick up what Kaede was trying to say. Tenko not only had a thing against males, but right now, she was also emotionally unstable. So Kaede accompanying Kaito would be the best course of action if they were to take something from the crime scene, especially if Tenko was keeping watch. Kaito scratched the back of his head.

“Right... I think that’d be best. Thanks,” he replied.

He turned to Shuichi, “We’ll be right back. Once we bring the swords, we can do your test, ‘kay?”

The astronaut turned to the door and proceeded to exit with Kaede following along his trail. While they were gonna get the swords, it would be a good time to see if he could track down the murder weapon. Since the sword was different, chances are it was used for another trick. The question is, what kind and where would he find it-

“Hey Shuichi! Look at this!”

This made the detective internally groan. After talking with Kaito and Kaede, he nearly forgot about the other person present in this room. Frankly, he didn’t like the thought of being alone with Kokichi, because he didn’t know exactly how he’ll be able to deal with him. But now that Kaito and Kaede were no longer present, this left Shuichi to deal with his antics.

He turned and saw a display that he never would have expected.

Kokichi’s head was hanging back with his hand hanging over his head. But that hand was holding onto another sword. It was dangling in his mouth and was going through his throat. At least, it would have if Shuichi hadn’t realized that he was hanging the sword right beside his head from the get go.

Shuichi probably thought that Kokichi was trying to impress him or something. But this did quite the opposite. Shuichi just shook his head disappointingly as he walked over to grab the sword from Kokichi. He didn’t bother to resist or even move from his position as Shuichi yanked the sword out of the Supreme Leader’s hand.

“Kokichi, we don’t have time for this,” Shuichi scolded. Of course, Shuichi didn’t have it in him to raise his voice to yell at him, so it just sounded like a stern lecture.

All Kokichi did was giggle as he moved his hands behind his head, “Aww, but I thought that sword was neat!”

Shuichi just rolled his eyes, ready to put the sword someplace out of the way. As he was about to put it away on a nearby table, he realized something. Upon closer inspection, this sword was large and had a gold hilt.

Just like the one that was used to kill Himiko.

Immediately, he whipped his head to Kokichi.

“Where did you get this?!” he asked in a hasten manner.

Kokichi paid no mind to Shuichi’s frantic behavior as he let out a yawn and pointed over to the wall.

“I found it hanging over there,” responded Kokichi as he rubbed his eyes like he was tired, despite the breakthrough he just made.

Shuichi whipped his head again to where Kokichi was pointed. Turned out for once, he was telling the truth. On the wall was a golden metal hanger hooks. It looked like it could be mistaken for coat hangers. But the one remaining shining sword proved otherwise. Shuichi didn’t hesitate to get a closer look as he brought the sword with him. As he walked toward it, he realized that there were three spots. The detective carefully lifted the sword up and placed it onto the middle hanger. It slid into its designated spot. He took few steps back to get a bigger view of this. The sword fit perfectly into the hanger and matched with its sister. There was no doubt in mind. The sword used for the murder came from that exact spot.

This was a very important detail that Shuichi cannot forget and needed to tell Kaede.

He wondered if the culprit decided to use this sword since Angie locked the box and the other set was no where to be seen.

Although, even if they were able to find the set, Shuichi would have been able to point out that it wasn’t part of Angie’s sword set since there were only ten in each box. Shuichi would have been able to see through it. Not to mention, they wouldn’t have been able to prepare it before hand and place it in the box since Angie locked it.

Regardless, it was odd. It was like the culprit wanted the murder weapon to be different from the others.

Shuichi remained lost in thought when his ears picked up on something. It was the door. Shuichi didn’t have to guess who it was as he turned and saw that it was Kaito and Kaede. Both of them were holding the swords in their arms. They walked over and placed the swords on a nearby desk.

“So what now?” Kaito asked as the swords clattered onto the table and as he brushed his hands off.

Shuichi answered, “Now I would like to test out the trick. We’ll pierce the box and see what happens. I’ll remove the front part of the box so we can actually get an idea of what happens to the person and see if it’s possible to harm them.”

If they can find anything that could have caused Himiko to get harmed, then this would make Angie the prime suspect.

“Okay then! Kaito! You’re up! Get in the box!” Kokichi order with a grin.

“WHAT?! No way, man!” Kaito argued angrily. “No way in hell am I gonna do something that stupid!”

“Fiiiiiiine,” Kokichi groaned. “We’ll have Kee-boy go in instead.”

“WE’RE NOT DOING THAT EITHER, DAMMIT!”

“Guys. Calm down. We’ll just use a dummy or something,” Kaede reasoned, hoping to disperse the fight.

Kokichi pouted as he stomped on the ground. “That’s what I said. Why do you think I suggested using Kee-boy?”

Kaede didn’t bother to respond to Kokichi’s remark as she just glared at him with her arms crossed. Kokichi just laughed it off unfortunately.

Shuichi decided to leave those three as he decided to look for what could be used as a substitute stand in. Luckily, he managed to uncover something akin to a mannequin. It was just the torso portion which held some sort of cape. Perhaps something for a magician to wear as part of the show. Not like it would ever be used ever again.

He held back his sigh as he removed the cape, folding it delicately as he put it aside on one of the small side tables. After putting that aside, he took the mannequin and pushed it into the large open box.

He announced out loud to the three, “Okay, we’re all set. Now let’s place the swords inside. Remember, our goal is to see if it’s possible to harm the person inside. I’m gonna leave the front part open, so everyone be aware of that.”

After he instructed everyone on this, they all made sure to grab their own set of swords. Kaito and him had three while Kokichi and Kaede had two in their arms. Totaling to ten swords. All of them will place the swords in one at a time and see if there is any way they could strike the fake body. It’s unlikely, but it never hurts to check.

Shuichi decided to strike first, approaching the box from the left side and placing it in the one the middle. When he placed the sword through, he could feel the sword set at an angle. Was it the the cut outs doing? They were cut out at an angle after all. The sword was positioned to move downward and forward. He kept feeding it into the box until the hilt hit the side, preventing any progress. He let go and looked at the results. It was inside the box, but didn’t hit the body anywhere.

He began to ponder.

_It looks like the first sword didn’t do anything to the mannequin..._

It was too soon to jump to that conclusion though. By progressing it further, Shuichi could learn something vital. Perhaps there was a hidden method that could bring them harm. Kaito was up next as he placed the sword on the other side through a much higher slot. Like Shuichi, he continued to slide it in until the hilt hit, stopping him. It was the same result as Shuichi’s, it went through the box, but didn’t pierce the body in an way.

“Looks like the mannequin is okay so far... ugh...” Kaito shivered as he backed away. “Never thought I’d say those words.”

Kokichi didn’t miss this opportunity to insult him. “What? Don’t tell me you’re scared of mannequins?! Are you?”

“Hell no! They’re just creepy! Like c’mon! They’re like the most common trope you see in a horror movie!”

Next up was Kaede who was on the same side as Shuichi. Ignoring the two’s debate, she placed it though a slot slightly below Shuichi’s. The result was the same. It went all the way through, but never touched the mock performer.

Kaede hopped over in front of the box to see her result. She could see her sword along with Kaito’s and Shuichi’s in there.

“Looks like the mannequin is still okay so far,” she commented.

Shuichi nodded in agreement.

Next up was Kokichi.

“My turn now!”

He picked up the sword with only one hand. However, Kokichi got reckless as he let it swing around, like that one hand alone couldn’t support all that weight despite how light it really was.

“Oops!”

Instinctively, Shuichi and Kaede jumped back to get farther away from its range. Luckily, it just hit the ground with a ‘clang.’ It was quiet for a few seconds before Kaito roared at him.

“Hey, watch it! Are you trying to kill someone?!”

Kokichi just gave Kaito the sad puppy dog eyes.

“But it was soooooo heavy!” he complained.

This was just another one of Kokichi’s lies. Shuichi just looked down and away from Kokichi’s general direction. Why was he like this?

“Also, I don’t know what you guys are freaking out about. The swords aren’t even sharp!”

This caught the detective’s attention. The swords weren’t sharp? He clearly remembered Angie stating at the beginning of the show that the swords were in fact real. She even showed them off to the audience before she began stabbing the box. Does that mean that she was lying about them being real? It would make sense. Angie and Himiko would’ve wanted to make the audience believe that the swords were real. Perhaps they were made to look authentic.

Despite the fact that all four of them held the swords, none of them real made sure that they were actually authentic.

“Wait, really?”

Kaito was already a step ahead of Shuichi as he decided to test out Kokichi’s claims. Kokichi held it out for him to confirm it. At Kokichi’s offer Kaito reached out to touch the sword.

...Then swiftly pulled it back.

“OW! You lying piece of shit!”

Shuichi caught Kaito growling. He looked over and saw Kaito’s finger had a dot of blood on it, and it was slowly growing in size and would soon trickle to the side.

...Shuichi didn’t have to look twice to realize what was happening. The swords were sharp.

Kokichi lied.

He snickered at his how successful his trick was, “Well, duh! I’m a liar after all! Only idiots fall for something like that!”

Kaito furiously shouted back at him to not call him an idiot and that he needed to take this seriously. Shuichi had to grit his teeth to not yell along with Kaito. The point of the entire investigation and this experiment was to help gather clues to help pinpoint the culprit in the upcoming life threatening trial. Yet, Kokichi had the nerve to just play another pointless prank and waste everyone’s time.

Kaede on the other hand was already on the ground. Before Shuichi could try and fathom what on earth Kaede was trying to do, he saw Kaede slide her backpack off and start rummaging through inside the maze of random stuff inside.

Shuffling through and navigating through only touch, she stopped as she had the look of satisfaction of finally finding whatever it was she was looking for. She pulled her arm out and Shuichi realized what it was she was looking for. In her hand was a box of band-aids.

She shuffled over to Kaito’s side as she picked out a band-aid and started wrapping it around the wounded finger.

But not while scolding Kokichi, “Kokichi, you really shouldn’t do stuff like that! I don’t care what your reasons were. We don’t have time to go about it in a roundabout manner. We have to focus. If there was something you want to tell us, just give it to us straight.”

After she finished, she looked at Kokichi. Shuichi wanted to find some sort of expression on Kokichi. Especially since Kaede is the one who was confronting him. He was worried a bit for Kaede’s sake and wondered what kind of reaction Kokichi would give. Shuichi wanted to see if Kokichi would try to laugh it off, lie and hurt Kaede in some way, or tease Kaito more as an attempt to ignore everyone.

But Kokichi’s expression was blank. It held no emotion whatsoever. This was confusing for Shuichi. But Kokichi’s face changed from that blank expression to a wide smile.

“Okay! Sorry Kaito!” He gleefully said, not sounding even remotely the least bit sorry.

How on earth was Kaede able to convince Kokichi to apologize to Kaito, or even acknowledge Kaede? Shuichi knew Kokichi didn’t trust Kaede one bit. He already expressed that multiple times. So there was no way he’d bother listening to her. He was even so prideful that he’d never apologize for a simple ‘prank’ like that. Did he just suddenly decide to have a change of heart and take Kaede’s words to heart? No. This had to be another lie. Or at the very least, he was planning on something bigger than that.

“Asshole... at least act like you’re sorry,” Kaito muttered under his breath.

Kokichi just ignored his remark, as he picked up the sword and pierced it through.

Just like the others, it went through without striking the body.

“Okie-dokie! Who’s next?”

Shuichi took that as cue to go again.

He picked up the sword and struck the box again. The sword went through without any problems. Next was Kaede, Kaito, and Kokichi again. They all did the same thing. Yet the results were all the same. The swords all went through without coming into contact with the mannequin. When the last sword went through, Shuichi backed off to get a better view of the entire thing.

All the swords were all coming through in bizarre angles to prevent any harm to come to the performer. Shuichi and everyone else already tested the swords to see if there was anyway to hit the body without tampering with the cut-out. But no matter what, there was no possible way for anyone to hit the person inside without leaving evidence on the box.

It was safe to conclude that Himiko couldn’t have been killed while the trick was performed.

“Okay. From this little experiment, we can assume that the culprit couldn’t have killed Himiko while she was inside the box. At least, not without tampering it.”

“Yeah... I tried moving the swords while they were in the slots. But no dice,” Kaito informed while scratched his hair.

So there was no possible way Himiko could have been injured during the show. From the very start, Himiko knew that the swords would never actually strike her.

If that was the case then why did Himiko collapse when Angie opened the box?

Was there something else?

He doesn’t remember seeing anything weird inside the box when Angie opened it for Himiko. Perhaps something was done beforehand?

Either way, there wasn’t much time left. Shuichi managed to investigate what he needed to look at in the lab. All that was left now was to find any more clues in Himiko’s room and possibly at the pool.

Shuichi wanted to see who’s motive video Himiko had. He also wanted to investigate the pool to see any other way anyone could enter the gym. He knew he could see from the gym window that there was no way anyone could get through. But he wanted to check on the other side, just to be safe.

He turned to Kaede, “I think we investigated what we needed in this place. Let’s try another area.”

Kaede didn’t argue as she made her way to Himiko’s lab door, letting him know that she was ready to move on with him.

Shuichi didn’t hesitate. He followed Kaede out while saying his farewells to both Kaito and Kokichi.

 

...

 

“Kokichi tried to do a sword swallowing trick?”

Kaede gave him a look of disbelief. Both from Kokichi’s behavior during a serious predicament and how it ended up becoming a vital piece of evidence. He really was spontaneous and sometimes selfish. But his behavior helped them find a vital clue. The sword really did come from Himiko’s lab.

Now they knew where the murder weapon came from. They were one step closer to solving this case.

But that was it. Just a small step down this twisting, dark, and even obscure path. Shuichi still had no exact leads.

Judging from everything that happened, the culprit could have used the smokescreen as a cover. But something still didn’t feel right. It was probably just his imagination but it felt like not all the pieces were being used or put together right. He wondered if this was why he was still a apprentice detective.

Would he be able to find the truth to the case. Would he even be able to help guide Kaede? He just wasn’t sure anymore.

Eventually, the two managed to reach the outside of the building. Sunlight was still gleaming through the gigantic cage.

He pondered. It had been several days and there was no sign of the weather changing. There wasn’t a day of rain or even a cloudy day. Shuichi wondered if they were isolated in a place where there was hardly any weather changes. Japan’s climate was always changing. If that’s the case than where exactly in the world were they?

“So where should we explore next, Shuichi?”

The detective pulled himself out of his own thoughts and back to the pianist who was expecting an answer.

He shouldn’t be so focused on their imprisonment. Not now. He needed to focus on figuring out the murder of Himiko Yumeno.

“Let’s start with the dorms. I don’t think it’ll take too much time. I just simply want to check whose motive video Himiko had,” he concluded.

Kaede nodded in agreement, “Yeah. Let’s start with the easiest thing. I have no objections.”

Getting her approval, Shuichi led the way. His shoes tapped against the stone pathway as the dorm building came closer and closer. When the doors were within his reach, he reached out to pull open the door. He stepped inside with Kaede behind him. The dorms were still as usual. There was nobody in here. It wasn’t strange since everyone else was trying to investigate the main places. They wouldn’t have thought of investigating the dorm rooms as they almost no connection to the murder.

He moved to the girls side of the dorm, climbing up the stairs as Himiko’s room was on the second floor. They managed to ascend the stairs without any problem or interruptions. It didn’t take them too long to reach Himiko’s room either.

When they could see Himiko’s door along with her pixelated version of her above the door, Shuichi felt the world pause. It wasn’t that long ago that Himiko was living in here. Just a while ago, she was alive, planning this show to help cheer up everyone. Shuichi almost felt tempted to knock on the door to ask Himiko to come. But he should know better that that will never happen again. Himiko was gone and this dorm room now just become another vacant room.

Taking a small breath, he reached for the doorknob and cautiously opened the door. The door opened with no resistance. In fact, as soon as he turned the knob, the door opened by itself. It was almost as if the room was beckoning its guests to come in, even there was no hostess in the room.

Kaede decided to lead the way this time as she stepped into the room first. Shuichi followed behind. Inside had the generic bed, closet, one man couch, and even a bathroom. It looked exactly liked Kaede’s red dorm room. Shuichi wondered if all the girl’s dorms looked exactly like this as far as the color scheme ad the furniture.

The one difference though was that there was no longer going to be an occupant in this room. This tightened Shuichi’s heart to the point that he had to clench his chest to try and calm himself down.

 _It’s going to be alright, Shuichi. We just need to look for Himiko’s motive video._ He reassured himself.

He took a deep breath in and carried out his search. Well, ‘search’ was an exaggeration because not a moment too soon, Kaede managed to find the video before he did. It wasn’t even hidden. It was just sitting on top of the table top in the center of the room. Perhaps Kokichi never had a chance to reach Himiko’s room and find out whose motive video she had. If that was the case, then Shuichi had to conclude that this was the motive video Himiko had from the start.

Kaede picked up the video, staring straight at the black screen. He walked over to her to watch over her shoulder. Of course, the fact that she didn’t press the play button right away showed that she was hesitant. After all, whoever was in the video could possibly be the culprit. He heard her take a quiet, deep breath.

“You ready?” she asked.

Shuichi nodded, but of course there was no way she could see him, so he quickly said ‘yes.’

Kaede nodded to herself, knowing that Shuichi was ready. With a shaky finger, she pressed the on button. The screen flickered on, turning white as it started to begin it’s operation. Shuichi could now see the picture on the screen.

He gulped. On the screen were silhouettes of Kirumi on the sides along with her name on the title card.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder if anyone caught the Steven Universe reference I made in this chapter... lol  
> Also I want to let everyone know that I'm going back to school this week so I won't be able to update as frequently anymore... Sorry :(


	19. Chapter 19

“Alright! Back by popular demand, it’s time for the motive video!”

Monokuma’s dark voice played loudly in the tiny video player in Kaede’s hands. Kaede didn’t know if Shuichi noticed, but she was trembling. She had to force her hands to stay stiff during the watching, but this didn’t stop the rest of her body from shaking. If Himiko had Kirumi’s motive video, that means the Kirumi is the most suspicious.

The video did not stop.

“Who’s the most important person in YOUR life? And now, without further ado...”

The screen transitioned to what looked like a scene of a city in Tokyo with people and cars bustling in the busy streets, and bright lights glistening within the buildings. While they were both watching this scene, Monokuma’s voice spoke over this little montage.

“Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Maid. With clients in politics and fiance, this elite maid is renowned for completing any request.”

This was shocking to the pianist. Kaede knew Kirumi was know to complete any task given to her. But she didn’t think that it would include politics and such. Exactly how talented was Kirumi? Were these things even considered important to know or even do as a maid? Kaede didn’t have much time to think of an answer as the screen transitioned to another scene.

It showed Kirumi standing in what looked like an office. But it wasn’t any sort of typical office. It looked like it was designed for an elite authority figure. In the office, there were rows of men in black suits, bowing before Kirumi’s arrival. Standing in front of the maid was another man who was sitting in his desk with his hands clasped together. This looked like a fated meeting for Kirumi. Was this person her ‘special someone?’

“One fateful day...”

Monokuma’s voice spoke again. Kaede nearly forgot that this bear was narrating this entire sequence. As much as she didn’t want to listen to his voice, she focused on listening to the details that Monokuma had to offer.

“She was suddenly summoned by one of her most influential clients- the prime minister.”

Kaede gasped. The prime minister?! One of her influential clients?! This had to be some sort of joke! But does that mean the video is trying to say that the prime minister was the most important person to her? If that was the case...

“The prime minister had a request of utmost importance. He requested that she use her talent as the Ultimate Maid to serve her country. He asked Kirumi to ‘make this country great again,’ and transferred all his authority to her. No one suspected that the prime minister’s new secretary was secretly running the country...”

_Wh-what?!_

Kirumi had the authority equal of the prime minister?! Why would she hide that fact from the rest of the students?! So does that mean that the current prime minster was nothing more than a figurehead and Kirumi was the one who was really running the country? It would make sense that Kirumi would hide that fact since if that were to slip into the world, then that would bring chaos. But that was still no reason to hide it from her friends. If she was trapped, then all of Japan would-

“And over time, she became the de facto prime minister!”

The screen already started changing from the previous scene to something else with Monokuma interrupting Kaede’s thoughts as they were going through her internal chaos. It was like this news didn’t bother to care about its audience’s reaction and progressed like nothing was happening. The screen had some scenes of a woman taking care of little kids, a lady taking care of some elderly folks, and more.

“Only Kirumi could save the country from impending doom. Yes! The future of the country rests entirely on her capable shoulders! But Kirumi is up to the task, for she only accepts requests that only she can fulfill. She is driven by the belief that her citizens the most important people in her life.”

That was it. Those were the words that shook Kaede’s world. It felt like her mind was cracking and she was about to fall in through to never resurface again. She just couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t fathom it. Not only was Kirumi responsible for watching over all of these people, but she would go as far as to protect them. They were the most important people to her. Each and every one of them.

“Oh and while we’re on the subject of those important people...”

Here it was. The one dreaded thing that Kaede did not want to hear. After hearing Monokuma talk about Kirumi’s ‘important person,’ she should know that there is always a catch behind it. But she didn’t want to hear it. She didn’t want to hear what sort of disaster was happening while they were trapped on top of finding out Kirumi’s deepest and most mind blowing secret.

The screen made the same swirling green blurring effect similar to what Kaede saw in Maki’s motive video. Just like before, seeing it made her sick to her stomach. She wouldn’t be surprised to find herself running to Himiko’s bathroom to vomit after everything.

“An unfortunate event will soon befall those vermin and sheeple.” On cue, Monokuma popped up on the screen and added, “What even, you ask? It’s a secret! Find out for yourself. Puhuhuhuhu...”

His ominous laughter echoed in her head as the screen turned black. Kaede had to stay still to process all that in her head. Kirumi was the prime minister and all the citizens of Japan are all in danger. Kirumi had the burden of over a hundred thousand lives and yet she carried it with conviction. If she had seen this, who knows how she’d react knowing that all these people were in danger. Kaede wondered if she’d even go as far as to kill someone here- a Japanese citizen.

But on an unrelated note, how was she kidnapped and brought to this killing game? Being a prime minister, the mastermind or whoever had to have some sort of high authority if they were able to kidnap someone like her and then have some sort of plan to harm everyone else outside.

She swallowed. Exactly how deep was this situation?

Kaede squeezed her eyes shut in grimace in this morbid silence. What exactly was going on? Kaede couldn’t think. She couldn’t bring herself to think anymore.

So, she had no other choice but to speak out since her mind was in a haywire.

“Himiko had Kirumi’s motive video...” she whispered.

Kaede didn’t hear a response. She looked over her shoulder and saw Shuichi wearing the same paralyzed, shocked face. He probably didn’t hear her. She wouldn’t be surprised. Hearing something like that straight from a video was just unbelievable. It wouldn’t surprise her to not hear a response right away or at all.

Kaede must have stared at Shuichi for too long because he picked up on how she was looking at him with concern. He turned away from Kaede and cleared his throat.

“Yes, I believe it is safe to assume so.”

“Does that mean that Kirumi might be the culprit?”

Kaede didn’t want to believe that someone like her would kill the culprit. She showed how devoted she was to protecting everyone and how she took care of everyone’s needs. Everything she did was for the sake of her fellow classmates. Would someone like that really be capable of killing another?

Shuichi shook his head.

“While that is a possibility, the inverse is also possible. If Kirumi had no way of seeing or even knowing that Himiko had her motive video, then she has no motive.”

Kaede nodded. She was glad that there was another option that she could believe in where she wasn’t accusing a person. She wanted to believe in a person first than doubt them right away.

The room was still and quiet for a while. It felt foreboding. Shuichi decided it was time to break that silence.

“I don’t think there’s anything more we can investigate in here. We should try looking somewhere else.”

Kaede didn’t argue with Shuichi as she nodded and followed in his footsteps. When Shuichi left through the door, Kaede looked back over her shoulder to give the room one last look over.

From this point forward, no one would reside here ever again. Just like Rantaro’s room, it will be empty and lifeless. There will no longer be a person there to occupy it. There would be no one to come out and greet everyone again. This pained Kaede’s heart.

She turned back to the door and walked through. Being the last one out, she gripped to the knob behind her and gently closed the door behind her back. She didn’t want to look back at the closed door again, knowing that it will never open again.

 

...

 

Outside was still bright and sunny. Shuichi was still leading the way. Now that they finished with Himiko’s room, all that was left was to investigate the pool.

Kaede tried to get a reading on Shuichi, but all she saw was his back. It frustrated her that all she got was just that. But seeing how he wasn’t facing her or right next to her said a lot. Shuichi was in an internal turmoil right now. Since he didn’t have his hat anymore, all he could do was turn his face away from Kaede’s general direction.

She couldn’t blame him. This must have been a lot. They were just trying to investigate Himiko’s murder, but instead, they learned a something even bigger.

Without even thinking, Kaede spoke up,

“What are we going to do about that video?”

This prompted the detective to stop in his tracks. This action was sudden enough to almost cause Kaede to trip over herself to stop. Shuichi didn’t bother to turn around. He was just facing the pool area, almost like he wanted to just resume the investigation and do nothing else. But pushing this issue back wasn’t a good idea.

Kaede had to know what they should do.

“I mean, I know we all agreed that showing the motive videos wasn’t a good idea... but...”

As Kaede spoke, she heard Shuichi sigh out loud.

“Yeah...I know. However, right now, we need to find out what happened to Himiko...”

Kaede nodded, but was upset that Shuichi didn’t answer her question. She knew Shuichi wanted to avoid the issue as long as he could, but simply ignoring this forever wasn’t good. It was simply running away from the facts. Running away from the truth.

“But... once this is all over, the two of us should discuss it.” he added, his hand on his chin as he was in thought.

This was a sudden statement, but brought a piece of mind to the pianist. He wasn’t going to try and ignore the facts.

But there was another thing that was bothering Kaede ever since seeing that motive video. If Kirumi was kidnapped in this abhorrent killing game, then who exactly were they dealing with here?

Was this the doing of Ultimate Hunt? If so, exactly how influential and powerful were they? They had to be pretty strong if they were able to capture the prime minister of Japan.

However, the fact that they could only remember little details about this group made it difficult to conclude such an idea.

Kaede looked up at the cage blocking the view of the sky. Would they be able to get out? Can they fight back?

She clenched her hands. The only thing she could do now was protect her classmates. The only way she could do that however, was to investigate Himiko’s death. Even though this was exactly what the mastermind wanted, even if she was playing right into their hands, even if that means participating in a life or death class trial, it was the best thing she could do. If they were going to force them to play by their rules, then she’ll just ram through and show she’s not some sort of puppet.

She followed closely to Shuichi. The next task was to take a look at the pool. It was good that he was tying any loose ends. Would they be able to find any clues pointing to the culprit there? Perhaps there was a chance there would be a clue. If not, they can at least rule out the idea that the culprit went to the pool.

“Hey guys!”

Kaede was brought back into reality when she heard someone calling them. It was coming from behind the them. Away from the school.

The two of them turned around and realized that it was Keebo. He rushed over to them.

“I’m glad I ran into you, Kaede. There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

Keebo wanted something from her? Does that mean he suspects her of something? Hopefully that wasn’t the case. Keebo proved that he would place trust in someone before he doubted them if he could help it.

“You were in charge of setting up the stage with Kaito, right? Did either of you happen to know anything about what may have caused the smokescreen?”

Kaede thought for a moment. It could be possible that maybe they set up the device while moving stuff to the stage. There was a possibility that it was hidden in one of the props. But nothing came to mind. Both Kaito and Kaede handled the larger props thoroughly, and none of the smaller props could hide something like that. Kaede shook her head.

“No. Sorry Keebo. Kaito and I didn’t even know,” she replied.

Keebo rested his chin in contemplation.

“Hmm, I believe that the smokescreen was used as a cover. But I do wonder about that sound.”

“’That sound?’” Shuichi asked, quickly catching on to Keebo’s words.

“Right. That loud crashing sound we heard during the commotion.”

 

...

_“Wh-what’s going on?!”_

_“I can’t see a fucking thing!”_

_“Is this *cough* part of the show?!”_

_*THUD!*_

 

...

 

“Oh yeah! I did hear something like that! It sounded like it came from the stage. Was it the blue box falling during the show?” asked Kaede.

“I don’t think so. Remember, the box already collapsed before the smokescreen occurred,” Shuichi gently countered.

“That’s right. I remember now. You’ve got quite the memory, Shuichi!” She complimented. This earned a blush from the detective.

“Thanks. In any case, Keebo does raise a good question. What WAS that sound?”

Kaede thought about it. It was possible that something on stage was knocked down during the big commotion. But was there anything knocked over on the stage? Kaede and Shuichi were investigating the stage just a while ago, but they didn’t notice anything. Perhaps they should check again, just to make sure.

“Anyway, I’m going to head back inside. Let me know if you learn anything.”

Keebo walked around the two and headed straight inside the building.

They continued to watch until the robot disappeared behind the doors.

Now that there was nothing left stopping them, all they had to do was head straight inside. Nodding to each other, Shuichi led the way with Kaede following closely.

As they approached closer and closer to the once vine covered doors, Kaede could feel her body trembling. there was no way she could calm these small tremors until she sees for herself what was actually behind these doors. Kaede braced herself as watched Shuichi grip the door handles and push them open.

Inside, everything was still. Just like when Shuichi and her first explored the pool. The water level was still low and the chairs were where they were. Nothing looked like it was touched.

Without thinking, Kaede left Shuichi’s side to look around. On the other side of the pool, she could see the gym window right above her head. It was at least several meters above her. There was no way anyone could reach up there on their own. Not even Gonta could reach that high. She looked nearby her feet. There was nothing else that could be used as a stepping stool to reach the windows. Not even the beach chairs could be used. The culprit would have to stack them on top of each other. But that was least likely since it was not only dangerous, but would leave behind incriminating evidence.

The chairs were left exactly as they were, so that idea was thrown out the window. There was the possibility that they had an accomplice help them up. But Monokuma already made it clear that there was no benefit for the accomplice. Even if there was one, the culprit had to get inside the gym. If that were the case, then how would they have been able to get out of the gym. There was no way they could climb back out that same high window.

With the lack of evidence, there was no way the culprit entered the pool area.

So that left everyone who attended the magic show.

Just as Kaede began to turn back to return to Shuichi, she saw something.

Shuichi was by the diving boards, crouching down. He was looking at something. Kaede could see that he was observing something. It was hard to tell what it was specifically as she was too far away.

She walked around the pool to get a better look at what it was Shuichi was observing. Sitting against the wall behind the diving boards was a black inner tube. It was already inflated and just sitting there.

Kaede squat down next to him.

“Hey Shuichi, what are you looking at?”

It was obvious what it was he was looking at, but what she wanted to know was why. She didn’t want to just straight up ask why Shuichi was suddenly so fascinated in a piece of rubber filled with air.

Not taking his eyes off, Shuichi replied,

“I’m looking at this inflatable inner tube. There are two things that I noticed.”

Now this got Kaede’s immediate attention. She should have known better than to have questioned Shuichi.

“First off, don’t you find it odd that it is inflated?”

Kaede thought about it for a moment. It was strange. Why was there a tube now inflated, especially when a murder occurred? But moreover, was it even related to the murder in the first place. It being here was probably just a coincidence.

“I mean, sure. But isn’t it also possible that a random person could have left it here before the murder even occurred?” Kaede offered. She didn’t want to make it sound like she doubted Shuichi, but it was important to her that they looked at every possibility.

Shuichi wasn’t bothered by Kaede’s idea as he leaned forward to examine even further. His hand was reaching at the side of the inner tube, near the handles

“That’s what I thought at first. But then I saw the second odd thing.”

Before Kaede could ask, Shuichi pulled the tube down on to the floor. Kaede moved back to make room. Shuichi released the handle on the tube and pointed at something peculiar.

On the handles were a bunch of weird scratch marks. The looked like they pulling on something heavy.

“The handle has abrasion marks. Oddly enough, they have the same marks as the window frame on the gym.”

Shuichi pointed at the gym window and Kaede followed its direction. She couldn’t see the abrasions marks from the pool, but she took Shuichi’s word for it.

“But if this inner tube has the same abrasion marks as the window, how was it used?” she asked.

All she got as a response was the detective looking down and scratching his cheek.

“To be honest... I’m not really sure. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they have the same marks. But I don’t know how they were used, or if they’re related to this murder at all,” Shuichi admitted. He looked disappointed in himself that he couldn’t provide some sort of answer to this dire question.

Kaede felt really bad now. Her question must have put pressure on the detective. Seeing how he was unable to provide any helpful input, it was no wonder why he was starting to doubt himself. Kaede walked right over to the detective...

...And gave him a nice bop on the head.

“OW!”

Shuichi backed away while he rubbed on the spot where he was hit. But it managed to get him to look at her.

“C’mon. You should have no reason to feel glum, Shuichi! There’s no way you can know the answer right away! I mean, we’re just getting started,” she reassured and added,

“Not to mention, you managed to discover an important clue too! I don’t know if it’s related or not, but it’s impressive that you discovered such a small detail.”

Shuichi’s face was still for a moment, but then he looked down again. It wasn’t out of disappointment this time though. It was more out of embarrassment.

“Yeah, thanks,” he muttered to the ground, now scratching his hatless head.

Kaede smiled. At least he wasn’t upset at himself anymore. This brought relief to the girl. Nothing made her feel more better than to help a friend in need. She was glad she could share her confidence to someone who needed it.

However, that moment didn’t last long.

An ear-shattering screech resonated in the pool area. Both Shuichi and Kaede jumped at that loud screech. But if that wasn’t enough, both Kaede and Shuichi could hear more loud noises resonating. It sounded like some sort of argument. Kaede couldn’t make out the words, but she recognized the voice of the Ultimate Aikido Master. She turned her attention to the gym window. Not like she could figure out what was happening in there just by looking at a window, especially when all she could see was the ceiling. But there was no doubt in mind that something was happening inside the gym. Then there was some sort of sound that came right after. It was just like the sound made when the smokescreen occurred. Now the argument sounded like it escalated to a physical fight.

“That doesn’t sound good!” Kaede panicked.

“Let’s hurry over to the gym!” Shuichi quickly said.

Kaede didn’t hesitate as she rushed to the doors with Shuichi running right beside her. She shoved the doors open and let them close shut on their own, leaving the behind the still pool. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still alive!  
> Also sorry for the lack of updates and short chapter. Schools has been driving me over the edge lately. Hopefully, things will calm down and I can get back to writing this fic ^^
> 
> Until then! Have fun theorizing, the next chapter will conclude the investigation.


	20. Chapter 20

Kaede managed to run past the young detective as soon as they entered the main building. The sound of the screeching from the gym shook her. When the fury behind that incoherent yelling echoed, she wanted nothing more than to jump in and prevent the situation from escalating than it already had. She just wished that she was athletically fit or even had the power to jump up high to reach into the windows so she could get to the gym faster.

But that wasn’t something that would suddenly come true. This wasn’t some sort of fantasy, even though the situation itself was so unrealistic and bizarre. She had no choice but to rely on her own strength. Kaede raced through the overgrown hallways with Shuichi chasing right behind her. As they passed the bathrooms, Kaede began to wonder if they’d make it in time. She doubt there would be another murder or anything like that, but fighting at a time like this was the worst idea. At times like this, they needed to work together.

Kaede made a hard right as she rounded the corner. Her musician’s ears managed to pick up on Shuichi turning around the corner with her. It wasn’t the only thing she heard. She could hear her own footfalls getting louder too. With the anxiety and her pushing her body past her limit, it became a laborious task to keep going forward.

She slammed against the barred doors and ran into the open halls. As she turned, she could hear some muffled noises beyond the gym doors. The fact that she could hear them from where she was meant that they were being really loud. Without wasting a second, she rushed over to the source of those angry voices. As she got closer and closer, the muffled yelling became louder and louder. It wasn’t long before the gym doors came into view. From the behind the doors, muffled voices were heard. Something about ‘ruining’ something, being ‘disrespectful,’ and... them being a ‘degenerate male...’

_Oh boy..._

Kaede quickly slammed open the doors and she saw something completely unexpected.

Kokichi was lying flat on the floor on his stomach. Tenko had him pinned against the ground with his right arm pressed against his back. Kiyo and Miu were there, unable to figure out what to do. Kiyo was analyzing the situation, trying to figure out how to approach the situation. But he wasn’t planning on jumping in anytime soon. Miu on the other hand was internally and externally panicking. She just had no idea how to respond to the situation.

“Degenerate male! How dare you!” Tenko roared, making sure Kokichi couldn’t move away.

“C’mon Tenko! I never touched a dead body before! I just wanted to poke it...” Kokichi whined as crocodile tears began pouring down his face.

“You call dragging Himiko’s body across the stage ‘poking?’ Also, you shouldn’t even be thinking about touching Himiko for fun in the first place!”

“But whyyyyyy? Himiko’s dead. It’s not like she’s gonna care- OWOWOWOW!”

“Holy shit! Is she gonna snap that failed abortion’s arm?!” Miu squeaked.

“Tenko, I understand you are upset, but we should not fight amongst ourselves. Our main focus should be on the upcoming trial,” Kiyo attempted to reason. But it was just going one ear out the other for the Neo-Aikido master.

Just from looking at the situation, Kaede knew she had to jump in and stop all this. Without thinking, Kaede raised her voice.

“What’s going on?!”

Kokichi picked his head up. His tears were still falling. Kaede had no way of knowing whether it was because of the pain, because he was scared of Tenko, or because he was being a liar and just faking his emotions. Most likely the latter one.

Tenko looked up too, “Kaede, this degenerate was dragging Himiko’s body around!”

“I was booored! I wanted to see what would have happened if I drew a magic circle using Himiko’s blood!”

Kokichi just earned another push against his arm from Tenko. Kokichi wailed out like the supposed helpless kitten he was pretending to be.

This struck a chord. Kokichi? Dragging Himiko’s body? That was bizarre and out of line for Kokichi or for anyone to do. Kaede would have done something to stop Kokichi too. Adding in the factor that she didn’t like Kokichi, she probably would have stopped him in such an extreme way too.

But not as extreme as Tenko. What Kokichi did may have been out of line, but what Tenko was doing was terrible. She shouldn’t just straight up attack another student just because they did something extremely stupid, even if that student was Kokichi.

“Everyone, let’s just calm down. Tenko, can you let Kokichi go?” Kaede asked politely but in an authoritative manner.

“What?! But Kaede-”

“I know what Kokichi did. It was wrong and he had no right. But we don’t have time to fight. We have to figure what happened to Himiko. This isn’t worth it.”

Kaede really hoped that Tenko would listen to her. Even if Tenko saw Kaede as her ‘fellow female,’ she was at an emotional turmoil ever since Himiko’s death. It would be hard to get her to cooperate at a time like this.

Thankfully, Tenko hesitantly obeyed Kaede as she released Kokichi’s arm and got off of him. Kaede was really grateful and proud of Tenko for listening to her. She knew that Kokichi’s would have made it hard for Tenko to control her emotions or think rationally, but seeing her not letting her emotions get to her gave Kaede the much needed bit of relief.

As soon as all the weight left Kokichi’s back, he bounded back up. He had a wide grin across his face, like none of what transpired actually occurred. The only thing that anyone could conclude about Kokichi at that moment was that he can really be selfish.

“Whew! Thanks Kaede! I’m so glad I can still keep my arm!” Kokichi beamed, while waving both his arms to show off the healthy condition of his arms. His face held no remorse or regret for his past actions.

“Kokichi, you’re not off the hook either,” Kaede stated sternly.

To prove her point further, she started moving toward Kokichi. He didn’t move away, not even when Kaede was now right in front of him. He still had that ridiculous grin plastered across his face.

“What were you thinking? Who decided to give you the right to just drag around Himiko and mess up the crime scene?!” she scolded. There was no way in hell she’d let him get away with this. Hell, he’d gotten away with so many things. And with every consequence that he brought, he didn’t do anything to make up to everyone nor show any regret.

Kaede will just have to drill it into him that he just shouldn’t do things knowing that it’ll hurt another person just because he wants to.

All Kokichi did was puff out his cheeks with a look of frustration. A look a child would give when a parent was scolding them for a long time.

“Aww... Kaede! Why do have to be so boring?!”

“Why can’t you be serious?”

Kokichi puffed his cheeks again at Kaede’s reply, this time crossing his arms across his chest. He made it very clear through his body language that he had nothing else to say and didn’t want to talk to her. Kaede doubted that this would be the last time she was going to scold him like this.

It didn’t matter right now. Kaede looked back at Kiyo, Tenko, and Miu, who watched everything unfolded between her and Kokichi. From the looks of things, Tenko and Kiyo were going to keep a sharp eye on him to prevent him from doing anything reckless or stupid. At least Kokichi didn’t have free reign.

Now with that being settled, Kaede knew that they needed to investigate the stage just one more time. They needed to find out what was the source of that loud crashing sound during the smoke incident. Just from looking at the stage as a specter, minus the body moved to a different spot, everything looked the same as usual. But that didn’t matter to her. Kaede had to make sure they covered all their tracks. Shuichi was already one step ahead of her as he was already climbing up onto the stage. As Kaede followed her eyes onto Shuichi, she turned her attention to the crime scene again.

This time, Himiko’s body was not sitting on top of the lid of the box like she was originally. Instead, her body was cast off to the side of the stage, sitting on the far right. It was still face down, so Kaede assumed that Kokichi was pulling on Himiko’s arm or something. It was clear that Kokichi didn’t pick up Himiko’s body as obvious bloody drag marks were apparent across the floor.

Kaede gulped. What gave Kokichi the right to just do that? Did he have no morals for the dead? She didn’t need to ask herself that question as it answered itself.

Kaede hoisted herself up onto the stage. She could see Shuichi examining the body, most likely to see the damage Kokichi did. Kaede decided that if Shuichi was gonna check on the body and box, she should examine the rest of the stage to see if she could find the source of the loud noise. Kaede looked on the floor, around the random props that would never be used again, behind the curtain, and even on it too, just to see if maybe there was evidence of the curtain knocking down something during the commotion. But she found nothing. There was no conclusive evidence Kaede had found.

Maybe she just hadn’t looked hard enough. So, once more, she examined the same places thoroughly this time. She had hoped by looking again the second time, something would turn up. But no such luck.

She mentally cursed. There was no clue whatsoever that turned up that could even give a hint as to what had happened. What were her and the rest of the students going to do if the investigation dead ends right there? She tried to think of something, like she did when she felt jitters before a concert. If there was something that she lacked, focus on what she had.

As of now, all that they managed to gather were some of her classmates alibis, what the murder weapon was, where the murder weapon came from, the weird abrasion marks on the window sill of the gym, and the fact that it would have been impossible for anyone to have gone through the window during the murder.

Despite all these facts, they didn’t really point out who the culprit was.

They were hitting a dead end.

Just when Kaede was about to ponder what to do next, she heard Shuichi make a noise of exclamation. She turned in time to see Shuichi observing the cover of the box again. This time however, he had it propped up on its side, examining that piece with care. If that was an indicator for anything, it meant that Shuichi found some vital piece of evidence.

Without wasting a second, Kaede made her way over to Shuichi. He didn’t notice her as it his face wore an expression of deep thought. He was carefully looking between both sides. Kaede decided to take this opportunity to speak up and find out what was on his mind.

“Shuichi? Did you find anything?”

Shuichi expression quickly changed as soon as he heard Kaede’s voice. He looked up to see her looking back at him expectantly.

“I noticed something odd about this panel. Take a look at where the sword was pierced,” he instructed.

Kaede did as she was told and looked at the mark. ‘Mark’ was probably an exaggeration. ‘Hole’ would be the better word to describe what she was staring at. It was wide and bloody. She tried her best to ignore this gory aspect and tried to focus on that hole. Kaede knew that it had to have been the sword that created the hole. The only possible time it could’ve happened was when the culprit stabbed Himiko in her most vulnerable time- at the end of her trick when the smokescreen occurred.

But other than that, Kaede couldn’t see anything else.

“Yeah. The hole made with the sword, right? What about it?”

It was a clear indicator to Shuichi that Kaede wasn’t seeing what he was.

“Don’t you find it odd that this hole exists in the first place?”

Now Kaede was lost. ‘It shouldn’t exist in the first place?’ What did Shuichi mean? If the sword went through Himiko, then it was obvious that it would hit the panel too.

Just as Kaede was about to ask Shuichi for a more detailed explanation, bells began ringing across the gym. This was a signal Kaede knew all too well. Immediately, she turned her head right at the monitor. On it was Monokuma, surrounded by delicious food and holding a champagne glass. Just watching this bear being surrounded by extravagant things while watching the students struggle as entertainment enraged Kaede more and more.

“Ahem! So, I was watching you guys doing your investigation and crap and have gotten bored. So without further ado, investigation time is over! Now everyone please head to the Shrine of Judgment. I don’t want any stragglers! So you guys better hurry! After all, our highly anticipated class trial is going to start!”

After his eager announcement, the screen turned black.

“Wait? We’re starting now?! But...”

There was nothing Kaede could do or say at this point. Monokuma was going to force everyone to come to the trial grounds, whether they liked it or not. She curled her hands into fists. She hated this. She hated this more the anything. She wanted nothing more than to stop this cruel killing game.

But, at this point, it would be dangerous to do anything.

So swallowing her pride, she turned to Shuichi.

“You ready?”

Shuichi hesitantly nodded.

“Although, I’m worried about how this trial will go,” he admitted.

Kaede nodded. She knew better than anyone that no one was ready to go through another deadly trial all over again. Would they be able to go through all that trauma again?

There was also the factor that they were completely starting with nothing. At least, initially in the first trial, Kaede knew who the culprit was from the start and how the crime was committed. But this time, she had no clue. She would have to start suspecting all the other students.

She leapt down the stage after Shuichi as he was already making his way out of the gym with Kiyo, Miu, Tenko, and Kokichi who was under constant surveillance by the Aikido master.

There was no turning back at this point. They can’t run away now. From this point on, they were heading into a battle of death. Before they left the gym, Kaede turned back one last time at the gym, right at the stage.

Himiko’s body was still lying lifelessly on top. This would probably be the last time she would be able to see Himiko. Afterwords, Monokuma will just clean up and remove any trace of the small magician. It was hard to believe that from this point forward, Himiko will no longer stand with everyone. Swallowing her regrets, she turned back at the doors and followed the other students out, leaving behind a friend who was already long gone.

 

...

 

Kaede didn’t say much as she followed the group outside the academy on their way to the Shrine. She was so absorbed in thoughts. Everything that they managed to investigate didn’t lead to anything incriminating, despite how important she believed the evidence to be. As much as she hated to say this, they had to go through with this life-threatening trial if they wanted to uncover the truth and figure out who the culprit was.

The Shrine of Judgment eventually entered in her line of sight. It wouldn’t be long now. The dreaded moment was drawing nearer and nearer. As she was getting closer, she realized that after the trial, there would be one less person going up the elevator with them. She wanted to believe that perhaps that there was no culprit and Himiko maybe committed suicide or was murdered by Monokuma or his cubs.

But, that was too unlikely. There was no way Himiko could have committed suicide just from looking at the circumstances of the crime scene. She didn’t even look like the type to commit suicide. And Monokuma made it very clear that he and his cubs were not allowed to directly commit murder because they had to adhere to the rules too.

So that left the one other option: The culprit is one of them.

That thought lingered as the students finally reached the entrance of the Shrine of Judgment. She was the last one to enter as she saw the rest of the students inside, waiting for them.

“Oh, I think that’s everyone!” Keebo announced as he saw the last couple students enter in the white building.

Everyone turned to see the newcomers. But they didn’t speak up at their arrival. They were all too absorbed in their own thoughts, worrying over the dreaded class trial.

Not muttering a word, Kaede gathered with the rest of the students to wait for the elevator to appear. Not even a second passed before the rumbling started within the building. She got her footing and looked up to see the muscular Monokuma statue disappearing below and the fountain morph into a pathway leading to the elevator that appeared out of nowhere. How much financing went into building this facility?

But now wasn’t the time to worry about trivial things like that. The anticipated elevator doors slowly creaked open, gesturing the students to enter.

The first one to respond within the anxious crowd was none other that the astronaut himself.

“Alright, are you guys ready?”

“Well, it’s not like we have a choice do we?” commented Tsumugi.

“We... find culprit... right?” Gonta asked nervously.

“Don’t worry, Gonta! We’ll definitely find the culprit! I swear on my honesty!” Kokichi reassured as a sarcastic grin grew across his face. “I think the culprit is obvious anyway!”

Tenko did not take well to his comment.

“You stay quiet, degenerate!” she scolded, not that it did much.

“Now, now. Let us put aside this drivel. Our main focus is this class trial,” Kirumi reasoned.

Kaito quickly stepped in on this.

“Yeah. We need to end this. For Himiko’s sake.”

Tenko became quiet after hearing that. Now her face had a mixture of both remorse and determination.

After Kirumi and Kaito said their piece, everyone began to enter the elevator. Kaede was the last one to enter after Shuichi. The moment she stepped inside, she heard the creaky doors close behind her. She quickly turned around and saw the Shrine of Judgment. Through the doors, she could see the white floors and walls with all the colorful flowers decorating it. She then felt the gravity shift underneath her as the elevator began descending down. Kaede watched the scenery of the Shrine of Judgment until it climbed up and out of her view. Now there was nothing but wall.

The elevator climbing down now, shaking. Kaede could feel the vibrations of the elevator coursing throughout her body. This shaking did not help with her uneasiness. It got only worse as it descended further and further down. If it hadn’t been for her tight grip around her backpack straps, she would be sure be shaking like crazy and be noticed by everyone. But, she knew that the shakiness of the elevator was hiding everyone’s anxiety as well. The descent felt like it was taking forever. Every second made the atmosphere more and more tense.

Just when Kaede thought her nerves were going to go berserk, the elevator came to a halt. Everything was completely still until the doors opened again. The opened doors allowed her to clearly see the trial room that she hated the most.

She looked up and saw Monokuma sitting in his designated throne, patiently waiting for the rest of the students.

“Right on time! Good to see you guys are here again! Did you miss the trial grounds so much?” he snickered.

Kaede gritted her teeth as she watched Monokuma laugh at the students from his throne, like he was some sort of sadistic king.

“Well I got some good advice for you young’uns! Take pictures! They last longer so they say!” Monosuke advised, not that anyone listened as a few of them began to head to their designated seats.

“SO-IF-OUR-FAMILY-TAKES-A-FAMILY-PICTURE-DOES-THAT-MEAN-WE’LL-BE-FAMILY-FOREVER?” Monodam asked.

“And if I take a picture of some honey that was stuck between my teeth, will that mean I can taste it between my teeth forever?” Monotaro asked, which caused some of the students to recoil in disgust.

“Oh! What if I take pictures of me while I’m still cute and young? Will I gain immortal life?” Monophanie asked, making Kaede roll her eyes in annoyance.

“Ooh! You cubs are just too darn cute! I want to treasure this moment forever! You cubs need to learn to treasure these moments too!” he gushed as he blushed around the cheeks. “But your father needs to focus on getting this trial on the ball. So no more distractions!” His expression morphed into an irritated look as claws popped out of his paw.

“Aaah! What happened to treasuring the moment?!” Monotaro exclaimed as his father’s sudden change in subject.

“Alright! Everyone! Get to your designated seats!”

“He’s ignoring us now too?!”

Kaede ignored the ridiculous drama going one between the bear family as she quickly made her way to her podium. As she stood before the wooden podium, she began to think about everything that had happened.

_Himiko..._

Himiko Yumeno. The Ultimate Magician. She was lazy when it came to doing any sort of action. But, she was scared too about being in this killing game, just like everyone else. She also cared about everyone too. Himiko went out of her way to prepare the exciting magic show for everyone when they were all feeling uneasy. All Himiko wanted was to help everyone in her own way.

And now she was gone.

She was murdered by someone in this trial room.

It was unacceptable that someone would murder a friend like that.

Which is why this class trial is necessary. Who murdered their friend? It’s the least they can do for Himiko’s sake. And to protect everyone else.

_I’ll find the truth... In this fatal class trial!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the very, VERY late update!  
> I'm approaching the end of the year and I'm just swamped with work. Don't worry, I'm not dead yet lol.  
> And now with out further ado, it is time for the anticipated class trial (Puhuhu...)
> 
> EDIT: I added some pre trial pics!  
> Shout out to Yogurttea for helping me out with inserting the images


	21. Chapter 21

Monokuma cleared his throat as the last of the students assembled around their designated podiums.

“Let’s begin with another basic explanation of the class trial. So, the outcome will be determined by your votes!” he announced and added, “Vote correctly and only the blackened will be punished. But! - if you pick the wrong one, then I’ll punish everyone besides the blackened, and that person will graduate from this academy!”

When Monokuma finished explaining, Kaede took a quick glace over the trial room. Everyone showed signs of paranoia as they looked around each other, trying to figure out which one among them is the culprit. On her left, she could see Rantaro’s picture still sitting there beside Gonta. Despite it being just a picture and was crossed out in red ink, he still wore a calm expression across his face. If he was still alive, would he be this calm? On her immediate right, she saw Himiko’s portrait, sitting silently. Himiko’s picture had her relaxed and looking ambivalent, like she could care less about the trials. It was almost like the expression she wore in the first trial. However, her picture was crossed out with two wands that had stars on the end and red sparkles drawn all around her, attempting to fit the theme of the ‘magician.’

Kaede quickly looked away and forward towards everyone else, so she could have their full attention and focus on whatever they had to discuss. At least this way, she couldn’t see Himiko’s portrait in her view.

“So, um... what should we talk about first?” Tsumugi inquired, placing her hand on her cheek in wonderment.

“Well, on the topic of questions, can I ask what happened?” Kaito hesitantly asked.

“Oh! That’s an easy question,” Kokichi chirped, “Himiko is the victim, and we’re trying to figure out who did it!”

“I know that already! I meant what EXACTLY happened!” he argued.

Kirumi took the opportunity to jump in on the topic. “I would like to know the details as well. To assist everyone, I would like to know all the details as to what happened to Himiko.”

“That’s a good idea,” Keebo replied. “I think it is important to go over the incident for those who weren’t present, just in case.”

Kaede nodded in agreement. She was a firm believer in checking over things more than once. By reviewing anything, they can see if there was anything they missed or even clear up any confusion that any of her classmates currently have.

“Then let’s do that,” Kaede agreed.

Keebo took that astute agreement as his signal to begin discussing the events of Himiko’s murder. A simple, yet emotionally conflicting task for the robot.

“Well, Himiko and Angie we’re making some last-minute preparations at the gym as soon as the morning announcement aired. While that was happening, most of us gathered there to watch,” Keebo explained.

“The people who came were Keebo, Tenko, Kokichi, Kaede, Miu, Kiyo, Gonta, Tsumugi, and me,” Shuichi quickly said to add more details to the scene.

“Then the show started. It started with Himiko doing the ‘sword box’ trick,” Kaede added. “Normally the trick was supposed to be done with the swords going through the box with the person still inside. Himiko went inside and Angie was inserting the swords through the box. But...” She gripped around her elbows as the next part became harder to convey. “…When the trick was done... Himiko collapsed along with the sword box.”

“Immediately after that, there was this huge white smokescreen. None of us could see what was going on,” Keebo said.

“I suggested to open the doors and clear out the smoke,” Shuichi quickly added, “So using our coats as a make-shift fan, Gonta and I blew the smoke away. But...”

He sighed and stayed quiet. Kaede already knew what it was he was going to say next. She knew that it would be difficult for the detective. Eventually, he managed to add, “Himiko was already gone...”

The room fell into silence at the mention of Himiko’s death. It was still hard to believe that everyone was back in this trial room, discussing a different murder.

Ryoma was the first to speak up after the long, morbid silence, “So, Himiko was most likely killed during her performance, then?”

“That’s obvious. So, anyone who was present in the gym is a suspect,” Maki quipped.

All those who had attended the show froze at Maki’s words and looked around at those who attended the show. Kaede looked amongst the group as well. Was the culprit really one of them?

“I don’t want to sound like I’m accusing anyone else but, couldn’t someone from outside the audience murder Himiko too?” Keebo inquired.

The detective, however, shook his head.

“Not likely. Himiko was most likely killed during the smokescreen. Both Gonta and I were near the entrance, clearing the smoke. It would be difficult for anyone to go in and back without either of us noticing.”

“Gonta no think anyone went by us.”

“Also, Shuichi and I investigated the window, but we already confirmed that it was impossible for anyone to enter from there,” Kaede replied.

Kiyo nodded after hearing the three’s testimonies.

“Then it is unlikely for anyone from the outside to murder Himiko then.”

Everyone nodded and murmured in agreement that those absent from the show were least likely to be the culprit. However, there were still so many other people that could be the culprit. Kaede looked among those who attended the show. With a couple of exceptions like Shuichi and Kokichi, they were giving off a silent tension.

The trial room remained quiet until a voice echoed loudly in the room.

“...Who did it?”

_Huh?_

Kaede looked over her shoulder and saw that it was none other than the Ultimate Aikido Master. She had her head down as her words bounced off the ground. Kaede could see that Tenko had her jaw clenched and her eyes were attempting to cover a hidden fury within. But it was all a mundane effort as she looked up at all the students present. She immediately got in her fighting stance as she looked among her students with a hot rage.

“I want to know who did it! Which one of you degenerate males killed Himiko?!”

Everyone was paralyzed by Tenko’s threat, especially the guys. The males were putting up their guards as Tenko eyed every one of them, hoping to get some sort of small response to indicate that they were guilty. When there was no clue she could see from them, she slammed her hands on her podium.

“If no one answers then I’ll bring a world of pain to all the guys! Starting with Kokichi!”

Immediately, Kokichi yelped in faux fear as he ducked behind his podium to hide from Tenko, not that it mattered since he was right next her.

“Why me?” he whimpered quietly as he peeked over with baby-doll eyes.

Tenko didn’t hesitate to jump in on that one.

“One- you are the lowliest of degenerate males I’ve ever met! Two- because you put me and poor Himiko through that awful Insect Meet and Greet! And three- you were at the show, so that clearly makes you suspicious!” she screeched in his face.

For some reason, Kokichi changed from his timid, frightened demeanor to a rather annoyed one as he puffed out his cheeks, despite the vicious glare Tenko was giving him. He looked at her dead in the eyes and complained,

“Why are you only singling me out? There are plenty of other people who were there. Including you.”

Before Tenko could argue, Kokichi bore a devilish grin as he hid his smile behind his finger. Kaede knew this wasn’t a good sign as shivers traveled up her spine.

“Besides, I think you should be questioning the most suspicious person here.”

This caught Kaede’s attention. Although, the more she thought about it, it became clear as to who that so-called 'suspicious person' is.

“Isn’t that right...”

Kokichi made direct contact with the said suspicious person, still wearing that scary grin.

“...Angie?”

Everyone turned to the Ultimate Artist. Kaede expected that Kokichi would accuse her of being the culprit. She had the opportunity to and had the capability to do so, seeing that she was close to Himiko during that time. Angie was now put on a tight spot.

What she didn’t expect however, was seeing Angie acting so calm. She wasn’t showing any signs of fear, guilt, anger, or even retaliation. Instead, she was in a prayer pose as her eyes were closed, her fingers touched her thumbs, and she had a small yet, tranquil smile across her face. If anything, she was once again praying to her god again. It amazed and annoyed Kaede at the same time that at a predicament like this, Angie was able to stay calm and pray. Then again, Angie was probably remaining silent because she was being accused in the first place.

Shuichi was right. This had to be some sort of escapism to her.

As the artist continued to pray, Tenko grew irritated and slammed her hands on the podium again.

“Angie! Say something! Kokichi and everyone think you did it!” She yelled at the artist. However, there was no reply to the Aikido master’s demands.

Kiyo stepped in to calmly interrogate the most likely suspect.

“Angie, I suggest you speak up. Otherwise, we’ll have to take your silence as a confession.”

As he said that, Kiyo gave her a sharp glare as a shadow somehow case over his eyes, almost making him look venomous.

But regardless of Kiyo’s veiled threat, Angie stayed silent as she continued to pray to her god. Kaede wondered if Angie was praying for her god to protect her or something. It was so quiet that if a pin were to drop, everyone could hear it resonate in the room.

Finally growing tired of the silence, Kokichi spoke up,

“Welp, I guess that’s that! Angie’s our culprit.”

No. Something was off. Sure, Angie was suspicious as hell, but there was something else that was irking Kaede. Almost like they haven’t found all the answers yet.

“Wait! We can’t just accuse Angie out of the blue like this. For all we know, maybe the real culprit is someone else and they’re trying to frame Angie,” Kaede interrupted. Of course, she didn’t want to suspect anyone else if she didn’t have to. She knows everyone wants to end this trial as soon as they could. But voting for Angie without going over everything was too risky.

Shuichi spoke up “I agree, we are making a hasty conclusion. We don’t know if she even is the culprit. We should go over everything-”

“Well, my precious Shumai! Don’t worry! We’ll go over the case right now!” Kokichi chirped.

Kaede pondered. Everyone was adamant that Angie is the culprit. But it doesn’t feel right. They were jumping to conclusions right when the trial barely started. The best thing she could do was shoot down any contradiction they had to offer.

_**NON-STOP DEBATE** _

**START!**

“Let’s go over this case from the top!” Kokichi smirked as he laid down the first piece.

“First Angie suggested on having this magic show to act as a diversion to kill Himiko.”

“Then, after hearing about the sword trick, Angie decided to **_utilize this trick to plan her murder_** ,” Kiyo added.

“So, Angie, took advantage of Himiko’s trust and the show?” Keebo replied in disbelief as the debate continued.

“Angie needed to obscure our vision,” Kirumi said while adding, “She most likely **_used the smokescreen_** to do so.”

“Once smokescreen there... Did that mean Angie **_use swords from box_** to kill Himiko?!” Gonta shouted in disbelief.

“All that indecent bitch had to do was act all innocent and shit!” Miu laughed proudly and quickly said, “Since we all agree now, **_let’s start the fucking vote_ _!_** ”

**_No! That’s wrong!_ **

**BREAK**

“Hold on, Gonta! I don’t think Himiko was killed with those swords,” Kaede quickly interjected.

The gentle entomologist tipped his head, “Really?”

Kaede nodded and turned to everyone else to make sure that she not only had Gonta’s attention, but them as well.

“The sword that was used to kill Himiko is a little different from the ones she used for her show. That sword was larger and had a golden hilt.”

Miu just snorted obnoxiously.

“That was obvious from the start! You just need to take one look at that fucking crime scene. So, quit wasting our time, you stupid, giant dildo!” Miu scolded. Kaede wondered for a minute if she meant to say that or if she meant to say “dodo.” Regardless, Gonta looked upset and stared down at the ground in guilt.

“Sorry. Gonta no mean to waste everyone’s time.”

“It is fine,” Kiyo reassured and continued “The purpose of this topic is to go over what we do know and clear up any misunderstandings.”

Kaede was glad that the small dispute managed to settle. However, this relief didn’t last long when she heard a certain someone chuckling.

“Okay. So, Gonta made a mistake that only dummies could make- “ Kokichi said in a sarcastic, condescending tone.

“Uh, Gonta still sorry…” Gonta muttered quietly.

This time, Kaito was the one to first respond, “Dude, you shouldn’t apologize! A man shouldn’t have to apologize so much!”

“Hmph, degenerate male…” Tenko muttered under her breath.

Kaede looked over at Tenko. She had traces of rage across her eyes as she watched the drivel chat between the two males. She was trying her best to contain herself as she had this uncontrolled desire to reach the truth and had to deal with the opposite sex that she despised so much.

“Ahem!”

Kokichi clearing his throat managed to get the attention of everyone in the class trial, minus Angie who was still praying to her god.

“As I was saying, our Kaede managed to prove that the sword used to kill Himiko was different.”

At that moment, his finger covered his lips as a devilish grin grew across his face once again.

“But that still doesn’t change anything.”

_It… doesn’t?_

“Kokichi is… technically right… For all we know, Angie could have still used that sword to kill Himiko…” Keebo explained solemnly.

Kaede risked a glance to see how Angie was bearing. From everything that was happening, it was becoming more and more disastrous for the devout artist as almost everyone was still convinced that she was the culprit. However, she didn’t show a trace of fear. She still held her prayer pose and remained silent all while wearing a peaceful smile. The more Kaede looked at Angie and how calm she was, the more creeped out Kaede was getting.

“But, how would she have been able to sneak it onto the stage?” Kaede countered. “Kaito and I were both in charge of setting everything up. Then, after that, she was dragged into the Insect Meet and Greet until the nighttime announcement and couldn’t get back into the gym until this morning.”

Everyone pondered at how this was possible. Angie barely had any possible moment where she could have sneaked it onto the stage.

Kirumi was the first to suggest a possibility.

“Perhaps she snuck it in using the sword case?”

“But Kaede and I were the ones to first bring it into the gym. We were the first to even check inside the case. All that was there were the swords used for the trick,” Kaito explained.

“Then perhaps she did it sometime after the set up but before the Insect Meet and Greet. Let’s say, she managed to take the case with her into Himiko’s lab once it was brought to the gym, placed the sword in the case, then return to the gym. That woul mean Kirumi’s suggestion can be considered possible,” Kiyo explained.

“Was there a possible time Angie left the gym?” Ryoma asked, turning everyone’s attention to those who helped in the gym.

Kaede decided to speak up.

“For the most part, Angie constantly had eyes on her. Kaito and I were even moving back and forth in between the gym and Himiko’s lab. It would have been difficult for her to have gone to the lab and back without being noticed.”

Kaito backed her up.

“I can vouch for Kaede. Both of us were helping carrying stuff back and forth. We never saw Angie leave the gym,” he stated firmly while tightening his fist.

Some of the students nodded in content after hearing their testimonies. However, Keebo spoke up with concern.

“Were you guys helping the entire time until the Insect Meet and Greet? I just want to make sure.”

Kaede felt herself pause. She never really gave it much thought. As she recalled, both Kaede and Kaito were dismissed early when Angie stated that she could do the rest. Knowing that the next task was more fit for an artist’s hands, they both left. That was right before the Insect Meet and Greet.

As if speaking her thoughts aloud, Kaito spoke hesitantly,

“Well, not exactly. Angie told us that we were done and dismissed us. So, we went off on our own. I guess it was about a half an hour before Gonta’s crazy rampage.”

“Then, Angie still had the chance to obtain the murder weapon. Difficult, but still feasible,” Kiyo stated.

It became more and more of a dilemma for Angie. Everyone was now dead set on her being the culprit now that there was a possibility.

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” Kaede justified. “Angie already had a case full of swords. Why would she go through all that trouble to get another flashy sword?”

Kokichi chuckled, “Maybe it’s to make us think that there was a third party! If she used the swords from the case, then that becomes incriminating evidence, don’cha think? So…” He spread his arms widely as he concluded his argument, “She got another sword to make us think that it was someone else who tried to make us think it was her when it was actually her from the start.”

“Start speaking English, you motherfucker!” Miu shouted, who was clearly lost after Kokichi stated his bizarre conclusion.

Kokichi just grinned, not bothered by Miu’s rude remark.

“In other words, she used ‘reverse-reverse’ psychology on us!” Kokichi concluded in one short sentence.

“Uh… wouldn’t that technically be ‘regular’ psychology, then?” Tsumugi commented.

Kaede tried to think of something. Although she didn’t feel as close to Angie, she knew that all this was wrong. It was too soon to decide who the culprit was. She needed to do something.

_**NON-STOP DEBATE** _

**START!**

“Angie had the ability and the means to commit the murder. The question is how she was able to bring the murder weapon to the gym unnoticed,” Kiyo first commented.

“In order to bring the murder weapon, she’d have to do it without being noticed,” Kirumi pondered out loud.

Keebo spoke, “The most likely assumption, would be that **_she used the case itself to transport the murder weapon_** unnoticed.”

“She’d have to do it when she was alone and wouldn’t be noticed. Most likely, ** _when she was alone in the gym_** ,” Maki added.

“She would have done it where there were less people. So most likely **_right before the Insect Meet and Greet_** ,” remarked Kokichi

“Gonta sorry for Insect Meet and Greet...” he apologized at the mention of that horrid event.

_**No, that’s wrong!** _

**BREAK!**

“Wait a minute! Keebo!” Kaede interrupted, pointing at Keebo.

The robot was thrown completely off guard as he threw his arms up in front of him as a defensive reflex.

“W-what?! What is it?!” he quickly yelled in response.

“There’s something that you need to know about that case. The thing is, that case was designed specifically for those swords alone,” Kaede informed. She remembered that the swords were fit so snug inside the case. It was difficult to imagine that a sword larger than its intended purpose could fit inside.

“Pfft! So, what?! Whether it was designed for it or whatnot doesn’t matter! If you just keep shoving and thrusting it in, it will stay in... ‘course can’t guarantee that you can pull it out...” Miu chuckled to herself as she made that remark. Kaede just decided to not ask any more questions and just ignore whatever innuendo she was making and proceeded to the main point.

“It still wouldn’t work. The sword would be too big to fit inside the case,” Kaede replied.

“Huh?! Oh, I get it! You’d prefer to have the big things thrust inside you than that case, huh Ka-idiot?” Miu teased as she giggled at her own innuendo.

_Where did she get that from?_

“That’s not the issue here!” Kaede screamed both in annoyance and embarrassment as her face became flushed. The inventor in question shrieked and recoiled away when Kaede raised her voice. At least, Miu will stay quiet for a certain amount of time during the trial. Though Kaede wondered how to return the flow of the case after Miu’s dumb remark.

It was a relief to Kaede when Tsumugi spoke up, returning the flow of the entire trial back to normal.

“I think I can understand. I have multiple prop carrying cases that each carry specific items. It’s usually difficult to pack any other things,” she informed.

“So then, it seems impossible for Angie to utilize the case to carry that specific sword...” Ryoma muttered, making a point by looking at the prime suspect. She was still praying to her god as per usual. Kaede wondered how long she would remain like that. The trial was progressing well so far, but Angie can’t keep up this act any longer.

In any case, Kaede just nodded in agreement with Ryoma’s statement.

“Yeah, that is most likely it-”

_**“Your deduction is full of flaws!”** _

Kaede was caught completely off guard as the Ultimate Anthropologist called her out before she could finish what she was saying. Taking a good look at Kiyo, he had a sharp look in his eyes and they were looking straight at Kaede. She wondered for a moment if she did something that offended him and his love for humanity or something. But that didn’t turn out to be the case.

“Hmph, I believe you arrived at that conclusion far too soon, Kaede.”

After being thrown out of the loop suddenly, Kaede was now in unknown territory thanks to Kiyo. But, she was curious as to why Kiyo interrupted like that. Did he notice something she didn’t?

“What do you mean by that?” she managed to ask.

“I mean, there is another method that Angie could have used that still utilizes the case.” After saying that, Kiyo gave a determined look as a shadow cast over him, making him look like he had been resurrected from Hell. “Now then, listen closely.”

_**Rebuttal Showdown -Truth Blade-** _

**START!**

“While it is true that the case was designed to fit only the swords from the sword box trick...”

“...There is another method to carry the murder weapon...”

“...All Angie needed to do...”

“...Is to place the sword at an angle instead...”

“...That way, even if it was still too large...”

“...The case could still be used to sneak the murder weapon...”

**ADVANCE**

**_“But if the case was used to transport the murder weapon, wouldn’t the other swords get in the way?”_ **

“Not if the case was emptied beforehand...”

“... All Angie needed to do...”

“... _ **Was remove the swords and leave them behind on the stage...**_ ”

“...Then she left the gym...”

“.. _ **.when no one would notice her disappearance...**_ ”

“...Thus, making it entirely possible for her to commit the crime.”

_**I’LL CUT YOUR WORDS!** _

**BREAK!**

“I don’t think Angie removed the swords from the case at all,” Kaede affirmed.

Kiyo perked up in curiosity. “Oh? But, as I recall, Angie performed a demo of the performance. Did she not?”

Kaede nodded.

“It’s true, but Angie and Himiko cleaned up and placed the swords back in the case. They did that so that they wouldn’t get in the way of us setting up the stage,” she explained.

Miu scoffed.

“So, what? For all we know, that bitch could’ve just pull out those small, useless ding-a-lings after you guys left... I mean, who wants to keep around something so small?”

Miu laughed at her own joke while everyone else practically rolled their eyes and continued with the current issue.

“What about Kirumi? She was there the entire time, right?” Kaito voiced looking over at the maid.

But as bad luck would have it, she shook her head.

“Unfortunately, I had to leave the gym for a brief minute or two to gather extra sewing materials, so I can’t entirely vouch for Angie’s alibi.”

Kokichi laughed, “Nee-hee-hee. Looks like your argument is already falling apart, Kaede. Better luck next time!”

Kaede could feel her fingers starting to tingle. She usually felt this feeling when she was nervous and eager to play piano. Of course, this wasn’t a concert hall so all that left her was a feeling of nervousness.

Was there no other way to prove Angie wasn’t a definite culprit?

_Okay, Kaede. Calm down and think._

Kaede began to think for a bit, racking her brain for ideas. Her mind couldn’t come up with any ideas that could prove that Angie never left the gym or went to Himiko’s lab. Was there something else? The main argument was that Angie disposed of the swords at the gym and left to obtain the murder weapon. If that were the case then, that would require time, precision, and a perfect plan.

If that’s the case...

“Actually, that may not be the case,” Kaede firmly stated, looking at Kokichi directly in the eye.

This earned a curios head tilt from the Supreme Leader.

Kaede managed to get everyone’s curiosity too as Kiyo spoke up,

“Care to elaborate?”

Kaede nodded.

“Angie’s only opportunity to obtain the murder weapon was right before the Insect Meet and Greet, right?”

Tsumugi nodded.

“Yeah, I still get jitters thinking back on it.”

“That would mean Angie had to unlock the case, remove the swords, leave without being noticed, get to Himiko’s lab, place the murder weapon in the case at an angle, head back to the gym, hide the murder weapon, put the swords back, and then lock it again.”

“That’s... a lot... but yeah, essentially,” Keebo admitted.

“So... what’s your point Kaede?” Tenko asked bluntly.

Kaede looked and saw Tenko looking at her impatiently. After showing rage to the males and acting desperate to find Himiko’s killer, she could see why.

“My point is that Angie had to go through all of these complicated steps...” Kaede replied.

_And she had to do them without getting noticed. It all had to be perfect... But there was an unexpected occurrence that happened... no one could have predicted it, and if that were the case, then she would have been caught by **that person**..._

Kaede stood firmly.

“There’s a certain someone who would have seen Angie acting suspicious. And whether or not they saw her proves if she’s the culprit or not.”

**SELECT SOMEONE**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! Trial is starting off without a hitch!  
> I tried my best to make it look like an authentic trial. But man... I thought investigations were hard lol. And I had notes too...  
> Well anyways, have fun theorizing ;D


	22. Chapter 22

Kaede made eye contact with the said person.

“Gonta! I need to ask you something.”

Gonta was startled when he was suddenly called out like that. But he managed to regain his composure and pointed at himself.

“Huh? Me?” he asked.

Kaede nodded.

“Yeah, and I want you to respond as honestly as possible.”

The Entomologist showed signs of tension as Kaede unintentionally threw this huge responsibility onto him. But regardless he responded,

“Uh, okay. Gonta try his best!”

At least he showed signs of cooperating with Kaede. She cleared her throat as she asked him her question.

“While you were rounding up Angie, did you happen to see her out in the hallway? With a case?”

Gonta pondered as he was racking his brain at the events during his rampage. Kaede wondered if he would be able to remember anything during his frenzy. It could be possible that because he was berserk, he may not remember everything to detail. But this proved to just be a worst-case scenario as Gonta finally responded.

“No... Gonta no see Angie in hall. Gonta saw Angie with Himiko in gym,” he calmly stated.

Shuichi asked a question next.

“And in the gym, did you happen to see any swords on the stage?”

Gonta shook his head.

“No. Stage was clear and decorated. Gonta no see swords.”

Kaede nodded. If Angie had to plan and prepare everything out perfectly to grab the murder weapon, she would have, no doubt, been caught by Gonta.

“Then I think that clears it up. Angie couldn’t have gotten the murder weapon without getting caught by Gonta.”

This brought some relief to the pianist. Even though Angie won’t be completely removed off the suspect list, hopefully, this will get everyone to stop senselessly accusing Angie and get this trial back on track.

Unfortunately, Kokichi decided to open his mouth.

“Well, that doesn’t exactly clear Angie of suspicion. I mean for all we know, Gonta could be lying,” he snickered.

“Gonta no tell lies!” he panicked.

“But Gonta’s pretty honest. I don’t think he’d lie about this,” Tsumugi gently countered as she gave Gonta a thorough look.

Kaede sighed,

“While it’s true that Gonta’s testimony alone isn’t enough to clear Angie of suspicion, I think we should consider other possibilities too. We can’t keep going back and forth like this. We won’t be able to progress at all.”

Kaede clammed her mouth shut after saying her piece of mind. It’s not like everyone would agree and follow her direction. She did end up indirectly killing a friend. She wasn’t sure she had any right to lead the trial like she did last time. But it doesn’t change how she feels about the entire situation. She wants to protect everyone, no matter what. But she had to hear what the others had to say. She needed to know their thoughts too. The silence drifted for a bit until a certain robot spoke up.

“I agree with Kaede. I think we were... rash on quickly concluding that Angie is the culprit. We should discuss other ideas too. For Himiko’s sake.”

“I agree as well. We should try to examine the case a bit more,” Shuichi replied, and explained, “All our lives are riding on this, so we need to explore every possibility, no matter how small.”

Kaede watched Shuichi as those words spilled out of his mouth. He was taking the same actions she did during the first trial. He grew so much and had gotten stronger in such a short span of time. It filled her with happiness to see him grow. She only wished that it wasn’t under circumstances like this. He shouldn’t be forced to adapt to this type of situation. No one should.

But she didn’t have time to worry now. The only thing they can do, is survive the trial and find the culprit.

“Yeah! I agree. This isn’t right!” Kaito beamed, knowing now that everyone is choosing to trust others over suspecting them.

Kaede could hear a couple others voicing their opinions, but in the end, agreed that they should examine other things. This made Kaede happy, everyone was working together now.

But there was one other person who had yet spoken. Turning her head, she could see the Aikido master watching this scene unfold in silence. But her eyes were still strictly focused on the artist, who was still praying. There was no doubt that the Aikido master still viewed Angie as the number one suspicious person. Adding in the factor that they were not close made it harder to look at Angie in a different light.

“Tenko...” Kaede started off.

“I... I’m going to be honest, I really, _really_ don’t like Angie. I just feel like she took advantage of Himiko. Angie’s method of converting Himiko did not help her at all! It was making her situation worse in every way possible!”

Tenko rambled on, “Making her ignore everything that’s going on, pretending nothing bad was happening, and having Himiko just pray her problems away to Angie's excuse of a deity! All she was doing was making Himiko run away from everything instead of toward a solution or even her friends!  As an Aikido master, the most disgraceful thing is to run away!”

Tenko paused and closed her eyes, as if trying to contain her anger towards the artist. Even if Angie was supposedly innocent, to Tenko, she was still guilty in playing a role in Himiko’s death. But Tenko let out a sigh.

“But... If we’re just accusing Angie when she’s not even the culprit, then I can’t go on like this! That would be no different from running away too. I want to find out who really did this! So, if discussing other stuff will help Himiko, then I’ll oblige. And if any degenerate male says otherwise, you will get no sympathy from me!”

She quickly got in her fighting stance and made sharp glares at each of the males. The males flinched at her sharp glare but managed to stay at their podiums. Despite all this, Kaede was proud of Tenko. Himiko’s death hit her hard. But seeing her still getting up to fight despite taking that blow and all that pain made Kaede smile. Tenko was still trying to move forward despite all the forces trying to push her back.

But that moment only lasted a few moments.

“Nya-ha-ha!”

Kaede was jolted out of her thoughts as that familiar laugh resonated in the open trial room. Slowly and hesitantly, she turned her head to the source of the laugh. And no doubt about, she saw what she had expected to see.

The artist no longer held her prayer pose, but instead had her hands clasped over her head as she bore a wide grin across her.

“Atua and I have finished with our discussion!”

“Where the fuck were you the past fucking fifteen minutes?!” Miu screeched so loudly that Shuichi had to pull away from her yells and rub his right ear to clear any ringing she may have caused to the poor boy while Keebo leaned away and look away from her general direction, as if wanting to have nothing to do with her.

“I was making sure Himiko was safe in His arms and discussing what kinds of sweet Himiko likes! After all, she must be treated well!”

“You two must have had a lengthy conversation, huh?” Tsumugi remarked, not noticing how possibly snide it was.

“Angie was most likely praying because she was being accused. But now that we moved on, it looks like she’s willing to cooperate,” Kiyo decided to explain.

 _Good._ Kaede thought. Although it didn’t excuse her actions, at least Angie will finally cooperate. She just hoped no one will say anything to set Angie off and get her back to her silent mode.

“That’s a bit selfish!” Tenko stated, not caring if she was being rude or not to Angie.

“Selfish or not, let’s just move on already. If Angie’s not the culprit, then that means someone else is,” Maki clipped.

“So, supposedly, Angie is not the culprit. If that’s the case, then the people who were at the show are suspicious,” Ryoma stated, taking a quick look at those who were present.

Kirumi explained in detail, “The ones who attended the show besides Himiko and Angie, were Kiyo, Keebo, Shuichi, Tenko, Kokichi, Kaede, Miu, Tsumugi, and Gonta. The ones who didn’t attend were me, Ryoma, Maki, and Kaito.”

“That’s... a lot to work with...” Tsumugi commented.

“Is there another way to whittle down the number of suspects?” Ryoma asked as he looked around at the others for suggestions.

“Perhaps, we should think about when the culprit brought the large sword to the gym?” Keebo suggested.

“The culprit had to do it during a time when they wouldn’t be noticed...” Maki specified.

_At ‘a time when they wouldn’t be noticed...’ that would most likely be..._

“During the Insect Meet and Greet. That’s most likely the time the culprit made their move,” Kaede answered.

“Ugh... I don’t even want to remember any of that!” Tenko complained.

“Yeah! Fuck that! I didn’t even get a chance to use my secret weapon. So, I ended up getting dragged in with all these useless virgins!” Miu complained as well.

Kaede didn’t even want to think about whatever ‘secret weapon’ Miu was referring to. Knowing Miu though, it was most likely something no one wanted to hear. So, she decided to ignore that comment and just press on for everyone’s sake.

“Anyway, it was the only time where the gym was empty, so anyone could have snuck the murder weapon inside.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“In that case, then those who were forced to attend Gonta’s Insect Meet and Greet would not have been able to pull off such a feat,” Kiyo informed.

Keebo placed his chin on his fist as he began to think.

“So, the culprit snuck into the gym with the sword during the Insect Meet and Greet?”

Kirumi nodded, “That is the most plausible answer, yes.”

“So, where did they hide it then?” he asked.

“What you mean?” Gonta inquired.

“We’ve already established that the culprit had to have transported that large murder weapon. Question is: where could they have hidden it? Surely it would have been noticed,” elaborated Keebo.

Keebo made a valid point. Even if the culprit were to be able to move from the lab to the gym without being noticed, they still needed to hide the weapon, so they could have murdered Himiko. But how could they be able to hide it? During the morning, both Angie and Himiko were organizing the stage last minute, surely, they would have noticed it.

“Wow! Keebo! What an amazing thing you brought up! I didn’t think that would have been something that came from your head. To be honest, I thought your head was just a toaster or something,” Kokichi chuckled.

“My brain is not a toaster! You’re just being robophobic now!” Keebo scolded, not that it did much since Kokichi just laughed it off.

There goes Kokichi again, making fun of Keebo. Kaede resisted the urge to groan and instead let her thoughts swim for a bit. If they wanted to find the culprit, they needed to first find out what they did to the murder weapon.

****

**_NON-STOP DEBATE_ **

**START!**

 

Kirumi was the first to begin the discussion, “The culprit needed to find a place to obscure the murder weapon. The question is where they could have hidden it.”

“Well, ** _it couldn’t have been inside the sword box._** The audience would have noticed it right away,” Maki stated.

“I saw Himiko show us the inside of the box. I didn’t see anything weird!” Tenko vouched while the debate continued.

Keebo offered his idea next, “Then maybe **_it was inside the case_**? Since it couldn’t be used to transport it, maybe hiding it could be an entirely new possibility?”

“But Angie opened the case, right? She would have noticed right away,” Tsumugi gently countered.

“And case locked at that time,” Gonta added.

“Maybe we need to think from a new perspective. It’s possible that they didn’t bring the sword in, but **_something else instead_** ,” Shuichi suggested.

“Gimme a break, Poo-ichi! What else would the culprit have to bring?!” Miu screeched at the detective.

“Or perhaps **_Kaito and Kaede brought the murder weapon in?_** After all, they were in charge of transporting everything from Himiko’s lab,” Kiyo chimed in, which earned a rage fit from the Ultimate Astronaut himself.

“What are you talking about?! Kaede and I didn’t do anything like that! We were constantly watching each other!”

Ryoma perked up from that idea, “It doesn’t have to be them, **_the culprit could have set them up,_** so they could have transported the murder weapon for them.”

“I said that we checked everything to make sure there was nothing dangerous! For crying out loud!” Kaito argued back loudly.

_**I agree with that!** _

**BREAK!**

 

“Shuichi, you said the culprit brought something else entirely. Are you talking about the smokescreen?” she asked. Her question was answered by a firm nod from the detective.

“Correct. Of course, they needed to move the sword too. However, like everyone said, it would be difficult to hide the sword in the gym. So instead of hiding the sword itself, they could have used the smokescreen _to hide their movement entirely.”_

The courtroom and whispers of confusion echoing around Kaede. Everyone was turning to one another, asking what Shuichi was talking about.

“Of course, it doesn’t mean they didn’t move the sword, they could have placed in a nearby area that wasn’t the gym. But then, they’d have to hide the fact that they went to retrieve the sword and then, attack Himiko,” Shuichi explained. “So, it’s highly likely that the smokescreen was not used to hide their identity, but their movement as well.”

Kaede marveled at Shuichi’s intellect. He wasn’t thinking of just one possibility but another one for the smokescreen. She never would have thought that the smokescreen served another purpose too. Leave to the Ultimate Detective to lead the charge.

Keebo raised his hand and interjected,

“So, what was used to create the smokescreen?”

“Yeah! I want to know too!” Tenko supported.

_The thing that could have caused the smokescreen... I should know this... It must be..._

“The machine Shuichi and I found under the panels of the sword box... I think that machine was responsible for the smokescreen.”

Tsumugi perked up,

“’The machine?’ What machine?”

Kaede took the opportunity to check that everyone was listening to this vital piece of information. Once she saw all eyes on her, she proceeded to explain.

“During our investigation, Shuichi and I were examining the crime scene. While examining the sword box, we happened to find a strange contraption under the fallen part.”

 

...

 

_“To be honest, I have no idea. It looks like a part of Himiko’s show. I found it sitting underneath the sides of the sword box.”_

_Kaede watched as the detective inspected it in close detail. Watching him work was really fascinating. It was almost like watching the process of music coming to life. Shuichi let out a small sigh as he put the strange object back in Kaede hands._

_“It does look like some sort of mechanism for Himiko’s show. But I have no clue as to what it may be. I do think it is important though, since it was found near the crime scene,” he reported._

 

...

 

“So, it’s possible that machine was used as part of the culprit’s scheme,” Kaede managed to conclude.

“But how do we know that machine actually spits out smoke? I mean, maybe it’s just a useless piece of junk where it’s only use is simply just existing and actually making no contribution to the world whatsoever,” Kokichi countered, but instead of making eye contact with Kaede who suggested the idea, he was looking straight at a certain robot.

“Wh-why are you looking at me when you say that?!” the said robot huffed.

But Kokichi had a valid point. Due to the time restraint, Shuichi and Kaede never had the chance to truly examine the weird contraption, so they never confirmed what exactly it was. It was now too late to go back and examine the piece of evidence again. But, it was never too late to discuss possibilities and see if they can figure it out by working together.

“Maybe we should discuss it. That could help determine what that machine is,” suggested Kaede.

“Then, perhaps a topic we can discuss is where the culprit obtained the machine,” Shuichi suggested.

Miu was the first to rudely interrupt with her suggestion.

“I bet that weird machine came from titless’ lab! She hoarded some weird junk in there. Probably was into more kinks than the tall creepazoid over there!” Miu remarked, pointing at Kiyo as she said that.

Kiyo on the other hand just pulled his hat down, disregarding the insult Miu just called him.

“But Kaede and I were in charge of set-up. We didn’t see anything like that at all,” Kaito testified.

This was true. While Kaito and Kaede were transporting all the equipment from Himiko’s lab, they never once came across a mechanism like that. They even checked inside bigger contraptions to make sure it wasn’t concealing anything.

“So... it wasn’t from Himiko’s lab?” Tenko inquired.

“Nope!” Angie responded with a cheer, “Himiko’s lab did not have it!”

“So, where did it come from?” Tsumugi asked.

“Oh, we didn’t bring it. It was-”

“What about the warehouse? That warehouse has a bunch of shit, including a couple rubbers in case the guys are interested!” Miu spouted, talking completely over Angie.

“’Rubbers?’” What those?” the innocent Entomologist asked.

“It’s best if you didn’t know...” Shuichi simply stated.

“And nobody answer that!” Kaito demanded, locking eyes at the people who would most likely answer the question. Specifically, Kokichi.

Maki placed her finger on her chin in thought.

“I don’t think that’s too likely. Most of the stuff inside is just for fitness and training. I doubt you’d find anything like a smoke machine inside,” she asserted.

So, it didn’t come from Himiko’s lab and it didn’t come from the warehouse either. Kaede started to ponder at the actual possibilities. Out of all the possible scenarios, there was one that stayed on the forefront of her mind. It was possible that the machine came from Maki’s lab. An assassin could use things like smoke to obscure their actions then come in for the kill. All the culprit had to do was take it from Maki’s lab. However, the lab was guarded by the faux Childcare giver herself. The culprit would have to get past an actual assassin to obtain such a vital tool. It would practically be impossible for anyone to get past her without her noticing.

That is, assuming that the culprit was not Maki herself.

Kaede risked a glance at Maki.

Maki was just calmly watching everyone throwing suggestions while she just observing everything from the sidelines. She didn’t show any emotion at all. No fear, curiosity, or even interest. All she did was just observe everyone in silence. The fact that she was acting all calm rubbed Kaede the wrong way.

Kaede knew Maki was already hiding a big secret. Who knew what else she was hiding? If Maki was the real culprit behind Himiko’s murder, then...

Kaede gulped. She could bring it up. Being the Ultimate Assassin, Maki had a high chance of already having a smoke machine beforehand. After that, she was guarding everything since the third floor opened. All she had to do was move from her lab all the way to the gym and back. Then, when the show started, and the smokescreen occurred, Maki could have quickly rushed in within the chaos, murder Himiko, and quickly get away, even with Shuichi and Gonta blowing away the smoke at the entrance. With her ability to avoid detection, move at high speed, and perform quick kill thanks to her talent, it would have been an effortless feat.

The pieces of the puzzles were already fitting perfectly with one another. The question is, was this the true answer? And was it worth revealing her secret? Kaede still wanted to believe that Maki was someone she could trust. She still wanted to believe in her fellow classmate, regardless of her talent.

But at this point, Kaede just had no more room for belief.

Swallowing the bile that managed to build up in her throat, she took a breath and braced herself for whatever was going to come.

“...What about you, Maki?” Kaede asked straightforwardly.

The moment she heard her name, Maki turned her head slowly at Kaede, looking slightly annoyed.

“What about me?” she simply asked, not saying any more than that.

“If I recall, Shuichi and I weren’t allowed to examine the inside of your lab. In fact, I don’t think any of us got the chance to see the inside of your lab at all...” Kaede stated. After saying that, some of the students were nodding their heads in agreement.

“So?”

“So, I’m wondering if you were hiding the smoke machine in your lab,” Kaede interjected.

“Huh? Maki had smoke machine?” Gonta exclaimed.

“But, why would Maki have it? Don’t tell me, are the child caregivers using some sort of weird discipline technique using a smokescreen?!” Tenko exclaimed along with Gonta.

Miu just snorted out loud, “Don’t be a bunch of morons, the answer is laying bare right in front of you guys. That red clad bitch was probably just into a bunch of crazy ass kinks and wanted to guard her lab to hide how kinky she really is!” Miu bellowed loudly.

This earned the inventor a ferocious glare from the child caregiver. Kaede almost felt the air freeze around the courtroom for a moment. It was almost exactly like the time Maki forbid her from taking another step towards her lab. However, she was just grateful that this time, it wasn’t directed at her.

Miu screeched in fear, “Heeeeeee! Wh-why are you looking at me like that? I-I was just joking. So, stop glaring at me like that...” she whimpered.

Although Maki wasn’t exactly innocent, she didn’t exactly deserve to deal with Miu and all that. Kaede just sighed and slapped her face with her hand.

After Maki managed to properly shut Miu up with just one look, she turned to Kaede,

“If you think I’m the culprit, then I’d like to hear your reason. And it better not be something flimsy like ‘I don’t have an alibi.’ I don’t recall you having an alibi either,” Maki snipped.

Kaede bit her lip. This was it. It was a fact that Maki was a possible culprit and was lying to her classmates from the start. She had the capability and the tools to murder Himiko. Now all that Kaede needed to do was to reveal the truth. She had to, in order to protect each of her classmates. Maki certainly wasn’t putting any sort of effort to work with everyone else, if anything, she was working hard to avoid everyone. Of course, Kaede didn’t want to resort to such a measure. She wanted to try to find some room in her heart to believe in her fellow classmate. Believe that Maki was still a good person inside those icy eyes.

But she couldn’t do it. She can’t just place raw faith in someone like that. In a place like a killing game, she can’t just place blind faith when evidence was piling against her. Kaede had to face the facts: Maki was lying to her classmates and Kaede needed to expose her lies.

Kaede opened her mouth, but before any words could come out of her mouth, someone quickly spoke over her.

“Oh no, no, no! Maki couldn’t have had the machine at all,” the devout artist interjected.

The pianist was stunned by how confident the artist sounded with that claim. Did Angie have solid evidence that it couldn’t have been Maki at all. Or, unlike Kaede, did she believe in her friends more than she did?

Shuichi cleared his throat and took advantage of the situation.

“And, what makes you so sure, Angie?” he hesitantly asked the gleaming artist.

Angie looked at Shuichi with eager and ecstatic eyes. Kaede had a feeling that whatever it was that Angie had to say, was something important if felt the need to speak up.

“Because it was something unavailable in the school. You couldn’t find it anywhere. So, I consulted Atua and he said-”

“Angie, you titless cultist! We don’t have time to fucking talk to your shitty God! Let me guess, you were going to say that he dropped one right out of the sky?!” Miu roared.

“Now Miu, let us hear what Angie has to say. Even with her religious preaching, she could provide us with an important clue,” Kiyo reassured.

“Hmph! Well, I say fuck that shit!”

Miu placed her hands on her hips and let out a huff, clearly very irritated about the whole discussion.

Kaede crossed her arms as she assessed what was going on. Miu was clearly upset about something. But the thing that got Kaede’s attention the most is that the smoke machine was not available anywhere within the school. It wasn’t in Himiko’s lab, nor was it in the warehouse, and Angie was confident that Maki didn’t hide it in her lab. But if it wasn’t in any of those places, where could it have come from? Angie had already confirmed that it wasn’t in the school. So, how was the culprit able to obtain in the first place?

_...Wait a minute._

If it was never in the school in the first place, then it had to be something else. And if Kaede was right, then that would explain _that person’s_ behavior.

“I think I may know what’s going on as far as the situation concerning the smoke machine,” Kaede concluded.

Everyone turned their attention to the musician student. Shuichi however, looked on with interest, like he knew the answer already and wanted to hear it from her. He nodded at her, indicating that he wanted to hear her answer.

 

**SELECT SOMEONE**

**_…_ **

**_No doubt about it!_ **

 

“Miu... you were the one who had the smoke machine weren’t you. Or rather, you built it, didn’t you?” Kaede stated.

As soon as Miu’s name was mentioned everyone turned their attention to the vulgar inventor. Miu, on the other hand started freaking out as she was physically shaking, sweating, and whimpering.

“Wh-WHAT?! W-why are you accusing me?! I didn’t do it! I-I don’t even know how to build things!” Miu panicked. But making such obvious lies only made her more suspicious.

_Really?_

Kaede had to keep in mind that despite Miu’s confident bravado, if she was pushed into a corner, she becomes meek and spews lies, even if it was obvious. If Kaede wanted to hear the truth, she needed to calm Miu down first. The best was to affirm her trust in her.

“Miu, I’m not accusing you of murdering Himiko. I want to know whether or not you built the machine-”

“Hell fucking no!” Miu screeched.

“Miu...” Kaede sighed out.

“Miu, I think at this point it’s obvious that you built it... I mean, Angie already made it clear that it wasn’t anywhere within the school,” Keebo pointed out.

 “Hnnnnnnnnngn....” moaned Miu.

“Miu, c’mon. You’re just wasting everyone’s time. Just tell the truth,” Kaito bluntly said, scratching the back of his head out of irritation.

“HHnnnnnNNNNgggn...”

“Miu, tell us what you know. Choosing to hide the truth from us will only make you more suspicious,” Kiyo clipped.

“HHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGNNNN...”

“Wow guys is it me, or am I hearing a constipated whore right now?” Kokichi remarked jokingly.

Miu, this time, was stunned to silence by Kokichi’s remark. Kaede could see clear tears welling up in her eyes right now. She probably wasn’t used to being pressured like this and then slapped immediately with an insult.

“Miu... just confess,” Maki just stated, hoping that just giving a straight order will get her to cooperate.

At least with Maki, she was just diving straight to the point without sounding like she was placing a huge amount of pressure on her.

Miu slumped her shoulders and relented.

“.... Okay, fine. I admit it. I built that machine. But I didn’t kill her! I only built it because that flat chested artist asked me to,” Miu said, pointing at the artist.

“The witch bitch and her told me it was for the show. They said that if I did it in time, then they would have me come up to the show as a volunteer...” she admitted.

Tenko didn’t like the insult Miu threw at the former Magician but chose to remain silent to hear what the inventor had to say. It didn’t stop Kaede though from picking up sounds of fingernails digging into the wood.

“So, you were excited for the show, huh?” Tsumugi stated.

“But if I had known that it would be used for murder... Then I would never have built it in the first place!” Miu sneered, now back to her vulgar, confident self.

 She then screeched out, “Yeesh, thanks to them, not only did I look suspicious and waste my time building it, but Gonta came and kidnapped me too when my guard was down!”

“Uh... I’m sorry that happened?” Kaede apologized in confusion.

Miu huffed, “You guys better be sorry! Fuck it! That’s the last time I’m gonna offer my services to any of you useless turds!”

“Uh, okay... all that aside, we now know for sure that the mysterious machine is in fact the smoke machine and that it was built by Miu,” Keebo concluded.

“So, does that mean Miu killed Himiko? I mean, she was at the gym so...” the cosplayer asked.

Miu shrieked at the accusation and started babbling incoherent words. Kaede could see she was quivering and sweating over at her podium.

“I said I wasn’t the culprit! I just built the smoke machine, I swear! I don’t even know how to use a smoke machine!”

“But, wasn’t Miu forced to participate in Gonta’s Insect Meet and Greet? She couldn’t have set up anything,” Kaito asserted.

“That’s right, you fuckers! I actually have an alibi,” Miu snorted.

“Well, her confidence made a 180 there...” Tenko commented with a blank expression.

“Yes, although, I am curious about one thing,” Kirumi replied.

Hearing Kirumi say that means that she detected some sort of clue. Perhaps something that could help pinpoint the culprit?

“Miu mentioned that she was taken by Gonta. When and where did this occur?” Kirumi asked in depth.

“Uh, Gonta think he took Miu before she enter gym...”

“It was abandoned at the hall?!” Tsumugi exclaimed.

Immediately after saying that, the cubs took that as a strange cue to just jump in on the debate.

“That’s pretty careless for the culprit to do!” Monotaro jumped, interrupting all the students.

“Have you been paying attention? They just said that lewd inventor wasn’t a possible culprit!” Monosuke chided.

“She’s simply the victim... of many things... the building of the machine, unfair treatment, not being able to become a full-fledged woman...” the pink Monophanie whimpered.

“OUR-MONOPHANIE-HOWEVER-HAS-BECOME-AN-EXTRODANARY-WOMAN. ALL-BECAUSE-SHE-LEARNED-FROM-THE-BEST-FAMILY. WE-ARE-ALL-PROUD-OF-HOW-INDEPENDENT-YOU-HAVE-BECOME!” praised Monodam.

Monophanie giggled at her brother’s praise.

Monotaro quickly jumped in on the conversation, “Hey, since we share blood, does that mean, we’ve become wonderful men as well?”

“That’s... debatable...” Monosuke said as the closest possible excuse of an answer.

The cubs began to quietly engage in their own little debate about becoming mature bears. This cued everyone to resume their current discussion.

“If what happened is the truth, then it is possible for someone to have taken the machine, and utilize it for Himiko’s murder,” Kiyo asserted.

“But, Shuichi and Kaede examined the machine and they didn’t know what it was at first glance,” Keebo pondered.

“Well, that was because we were tight on time during the investigation. If we were allowed more time, maybe we could have figured it out,” Shuichi answered as honestly as possible.

“So, the only time anyone could have taken it was...” Tsumugi trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

“During Gonta’s famed Insect Meet and Greet!” Angie cheered with her hands clapping.

Kaede looked upon the people who managed to not get caught by Gonta. Among those people, they had the capability to pull off the crime. No one was around to catch them acting suspicious and as a result, managed to successfully create a method to kill one of her friends. Despite their opportunity to evade everyone and possibly pull off what they believed to be a perfect crime, it doesn’t change the fact that they would have a shaky alibi or have no alibi at all during that time.

And one of those people was her. From this point forward, no matter what she could say, everyone would take it as words of a potential culprit. She needed to be prepared for that.

“Those would be Ryoma, Maki, Kaede, Kaito, Kokichi, and myself,” Kirumi replied.

“Wow, Kirumi! I didn’t think you’d be the type to screw yourself over. I guess for a maid, you’d tell the truth no matter what!” Kokichi remarked with an empty smile.

All Kirumi did was curtsied. Kaede sighed. While she appreciated Kirumi for being honest, it wouldn’t help if she knew herself if she wasn’t a culprit and yet decided to let everyone accuse her. Then again, maybe she wanted to be fair.

“Don’t act so cocky, Kokichi! You’re a suspect too, y’know!” Tenko yelled at the dictator.

“Whaaaaat? Me? Nah. I would never harm little Himiko! She’s just a pure cinnamon roll! I could never, ever, hurt her!” Kokichi replied sarcastically.

Tenko looked like she was ready to smash Kokichi’s skull when Keebo quickly grabbed her arm to stop her from doing whatever it was she was about to do.

“In any case, one of them is most certainly the culprit,” Kiyo stated while glaring at Kokichi, almost as if he wanted to make it clear that he was included in the suspect list. Kokichi however didn’t look fazed as he shrugged it off and placed his hands behind his head.

“H-hold on a minute! I’m not the culprit!” Kaito argued defensively.

“Well, then who is it? I bet fifty dollars that it’s Ryoma,” Kokichi smirked.

“Really? Well, sorry to disappoint but I’m not the culprit,” Ryoma stated, not bothering to give Kokichi a glance.

“How do we know Kokichi isn’t the culprit? He tricked Gonta and set up the Insect Meet and Greet to do whatever he wanted without anyone to stop him!” Tenko argued.

This caused Kokichi to cry out crocodile tears again, “Tenko! Why are you so mean to meeeeeee?!”

And within a second, the trial room erupted into chaos as people started talking and yelling over each other to try and get their voices to be heard. Layers and layers of voices were crying out outlandish claims, pleas, and cries that could hardly be deciphered amongst the chaos. Thanks to her sensitive ears, Kaede could catch the voices of the accused, trying to convince the others as to why they couldn’t be the culprit while the others dismissed them and continued to accuse them. The ones lacking an alibi started acting defensively now, accusing one another.

_This is bad. Everyone is panicking and throwing the courtroom into disarray. If this continues then we’ll never reach the truth._

Kaede had to get everyone to calm down. But, she can’t simply just yell at them to calm down. It would hardly solve anything. There was one thing she can do. She needed to discern everyone’s voices and find contradiction to break through to bring the trial back to its normal flow.

_Alright! Let’s do this!_

“Kokichi was the one who orchestrated everything! I think he’s clearly suspicious!” Tenko repeated as she pointed her finger at him.

“Ugh! We’ve been over this already!” Kokichi groaned out loud. “I’m not the only suspicious person here! C’mon Tenko, use your brain! Maki is obviously the culprit!”

“What sort of childish game are you playing?” Maki clipped.

“Seriously! What the hell?! I’m trying to tell you guys I didn’t do it!” Kaito yelled, frustration clearly showing on his face.

“I said I’m not the culprit!”/ “I’m not the culprit.”/ “No way in hell am I the culprit!”

 

**_Mass Panic Debate_ **

**START!**

 

“All I did was tell Gonta to have that party...” Kokichi whined. / “I was trying to get away from Gonta!” Kaito explained in a panicked manner/ “I managed to evade Gonta...” Ryoma quietly testified.

“After that, I was going to get everyone’s motive video, no murder included.”/ “I was mostly hiding in places where he wouldn’t look!” / “...Thanks to my Shukuchi.”

“How do we know that’s the truth?!” Tenko demanded. / “That’s not an alibi, Kaito. Those are just a list of activities you did during Gonta’s rampage,” Kiyo sighed. / “After that I just stayed in my room.”

“WE ALL KNOW HOW BIG OF A LIAR YOU ARE, YOU DEGENERATE MALE!”/ **_Do you have someone who can vouch for you?”_** / “As for me, I just stayed in front of my lab,” Maki said straightforwardly.

“I saw Kokichi. I can say that he was with me for about a half an hour.” Kirumi testified. / “Uhh...” / “ ** _But no one can say they saw Maki._** Not even Atua could see her...” Angie replied.

“Kirumi was really ruthless with her scolding...” / “I see, so we have no choice but to suspect you too.” / “...”

 

_**I hear it!** _

**BREAK!**

 

“I can vouch for Kaito’s alibi. For most of the time until the nighttime announcement, we were-” Kaede paused, awkwardly looking among the students. She didn’t know how to phrase her statement without mentioning the girl’s bathroom. Now she found herself walking a tightrope and balancing to make sure wouldn’t fall and die of embarrassment.

“Kaede?” Keebo asked in concern.

“Uh... We were together, hiding in a spot where Gonta wouldn’t look. After that, we just stayed together for the most part,” Kaede finally managed to say, thankful that it came across as normal as she could.

“So, you and that space degenerate have an alibi, huh?” Tenko commented, her voice mixing in pleasure that Kaede has an alibi and disappointment that Kaito has one.

“Why do you sound disappointed when you mention me?!” Kaito argued in a concerned tone.

“May I ask where it is you were hiding, just for more details,” Kirumi asked in concern.

“Uh... In a place... Gonta wouldn’t look,” Kaede stammered.

“Yeah! Both Kaede and I hid in the girl’s bathroom! And thankfully, Gonta didn’t bother to come inside!” Kaito boasted proudly. Immediately a moment of silence became present after hearing Kaito’s statement. Some of the students were staring between Kaito, who was oblivious to what he revealed, and Kaede, who had a look of shock and embarrassment across her face.

She forced herself to slap her face to make it easier to avoid looking at the awkward looks everyone was giving them. She could feel herself plummeting to the ground as she heard the students starting to gossip.

Shuichi cleared his throat, “Uh... So, let me get this straight. You BOTH hid in the girl’s bathroom?”

“What?! That space degenerate invaded Kaede’s privacy?! Pervert! Filthy male pervert!” Tenko yelled at the top of her lungs as she pointed accusingly at Kaito, which threw Kaito in a loop as he jumped from her yelling.

“What, no! I wouldn’t do that! Besides! I was there first! You can’t be a pervert if there was nobody to peep on in the first place!” Kaito argued back. Kaede groaned out loud, still hiding her face in her hands. Of all the things he could have chosen to argue about, he had to argue that?

“So, while Gonta was fucking around with us, you two were fucking each other?!” Miu snarled and screeched out an unnecessary. “Well, fuck you guys! Having a good time while I was practically dying in there!”.

“That’s not what happened! Kaede ran into the bathroom and we just stayed together until we felt that it was safe to come out!” He explained quickly as he looked around at the other student. Somehow, he had hoped to get some sort of support or sympathy from anyone. But there was no such luck. Not even Kaede, would grace him with one of her supportive smiles as she was busy hiding in her hands.

As an attempt to try and alleviate the situation, Kaito added, “And it was totally platonic, and nothing happened... At all!”

As if the ‘at all’ part was going to dissolve the situation Kaito built on himself. It just made everything worse as the perplexed students murmured with whoever was next to them, discussing what to believe. Everyone was already digging Kaede’s grave for her, but it was not the grave she expected to be buried in.

To help resolve this random debate, Shuichi cleared his throat and turned his focus onto Kaede.

“Kaede? Is what Kaito said true?” he hesitantly asked.

Did- did Shuichi really just asked that? Did he feel that it was actually necessary to doubt Kaito and ask Kaede what really transpired in the girl’s bathroom?! Why did Shuichi prioritize that over everything in a killing game situation?!

No one could really blame Kaede when she blurted out, “Of course it’s true!”

The detective flinched at Kaede’s sudden loud voice. Realizing this, Kaede attempted to calm herself down and explained thoroughly.

“I was running away from Gonta and hid in the girl’s bathroom. I found Kaito in there and for the most part, we just talked. Eventually, we decided to check things out once it was calmer outside.”

“Okay! But can you prove that you two were out and about together?” Kokichi inquired.

“Kokichi, you ran into them as well as I,” Kirumi sighed. “We can both vouch that they in fact did explore the halls together. We were all together until about three minutes before the nighttime announcement.”

“Ugh… I can’t believe there was a degenerate male in the girl’s bathroom though!” Tenko pouted, glaring at the astronaut.

“Well, regardless of the circumstances, Kaede and Kaito both have an alibi,” Kiyo concluded.

“Y-yeah…” Shuichi agreed, but for some reason still had concern lacing his voice as his eyes kept looking sideways at Kaito.

Kaede let out a breath of relief. Even, if this topic turned out to be some roller-coaster ride that she never wanted to ride on again, she at least got everyone on the same page. Both Kaede and Kaito could vouch for each other so neither could be the culprit. At this point, no one could doubt her or Kaito.

“Oh my god! I just had a brain blast!” Kokichi shouted at the top of his lungs.

Everyone turned their heads out Kokichi. Some of them groaned out loud when they realized it was the Supreme Leader speaking. Others were curious as to what Kokichi was about to say.

However, some didn’t want to deal with Kokichi’s lies as one of those people, Tenko, spoke up.

“We don’t have time to deal with your lies, Kokichi! We’re trying to find out who killed Himiko!” Tenko spat.

“I know that. And I’m saying I know who our culprit is,” Kokichi cheered.

_What?_

“And how do we know, that’s not a lie too?” Keebo asked.

“Ah... evidence. I see that you won’t take my word for it.”

“No shit!” Miu barked.

However, instead being disappointed about having that fact hanging over him, he just grinned. It was the same devilish grin he always bore when he knew things would get, in his opinion, interesting.

“Don’t worry. I have proof.”

“Really? You? How do we know that isn’t a lie?” Kaito questioned.

“Why don’t you keep quiet while I finish talking, you ASS-tronaut,” Kokichi teased as he enunciated the ‘ass’ part.

“Who are you calling an ASS?!”

“Anyway, I’ll go through it step by step so even all the idiots can be on the same page.”

Kaito just growled at the manipulative supreme leader. Kokichi didn’t bother to pay attention to the angry astronaut as he turned his attention to the entire class.

“Now let’s start the questions. Question number one! During the Insect Meet and Greet, who was able to avoid Gonta?” he asked as he made eye contact with everyone in the room, expecting an answer.

_The ones who managed to avoid Gonta were...._

“They were you, Kirumi, Kaito, Ryoma, Maki, and me,” Kaede replied.

“Correct-a-mundo! Give the pianist a point! Now on to the next question!”

He opened his arms wide as he asked everyone.

“Of those six, who helped Himiko with setting up the show?”

Kaede remained silent while thinking about it.

_The ones who helped Himiko were..._

“They were Kaito, Kirumi, and me...”

Kokichi clapped loudly for all the students to hear. “Yay! Kaede gets another point! You guys need to hurry! Kaede just might be the winner here!”

“Kokichi! Are you just messing around!?” Kaito growled.

Tenko jumped in, “Yeah! Are you just wasting our time!?”

“Hey! Let me finish here! Besides this is the final question!”

Kokichi turned his attention away from the two and back at everyone.

“Now the last question! Here it is! Out of those three...”

Kokichi smirked devilishly and asked, “...Who was the one who came to the show before Himiko was killed?”

Kaede could feel nails scratching the inside of her throat. She knew what Kokichi was saying. Who Kokichi was about to accuse.

_... The only one out of those three who attended the show was..._

 

**_SELECT SOMEONE_ **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! Back again! So happy to be back actually!  
> I really enjoyed writing this chapter for this trial. Mostly because I got to include Kaede's and Kaito's alibi (Cough...girl's bathroom...cough!). Also because I enjoyed writing Kokichi's and Miu's dialogue the most.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and enjoy the suspense at the end... ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


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